


Consequences

by MistressOfDeath



Series: Frozen to the Marrow [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Artist Steve Rogers, Awesome Clint Barton, Awesome Pepper Potts, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Tony Stark, Best Friends, Birds, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Cute Teddy Lupin, Famous Harry, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Harry Potter Raises Teddy Lupin, Harry Potter-centric, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Magic, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Natasha Romanov Has Issues, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Nick Fury is Not Amused, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Prank Wars, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Harry Potter, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Tony Stark, Snarky Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Social Media, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Uncle James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 148,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23326165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressOfDeath/pseuds/MistressOfDeath
Summary: The whole team is back together, accommodating themselves in the newly renovated Avengers Tower and getting used to the company, dealing with their everyday and not-so-everyday problems. Mostly Rose-centric. Sequel to XTREMIS. Fem!Harry. Sequel to this is up!
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Bruce Banner & Harry Potter, Clint Barton & Harry Potter, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Harry Potter & Avengers Team, Harry Potter & George Weasley, Harry Potter & Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Harry Potter & Steve Rogers, Harry Potter & Tony Stark, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Frozen to the Marrow [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648501
Comments: 99
Kudos: 370





	1. Boyfriend:I

When Tony had invited them all to live with him after the tower was rebuilt, they thought that Tony was bluffing. The team had disbanded. Nat and Clint had gone back to do what they did before becoming Avengers. Thor had left for Asgard. Tony and Rose had moved to their Malibu residence to get some personal space. Steve had left to rediscover America after 70 years. Bruce had stayed behind at the tower. He had realized that Tony was a man of his words and he had indeed gifted him a Candyland, i.e. a whole floor to him. and it was finally a place where he was left alone and wasn't feared for his alter-ego.

But after the whole Killian agenda, Fury, Steve, and others had decided it was best to stick around. And when Tony had re-proposed the idea of them all moving into the tower, they all took upon it.

It had only been barely 5 days and everyone was still trying to get used to each other.

Clint's lazy ass and his weird love of hiding in vents.

Nat's ability to walk in on people without being detected, and giving the best passive-aggressive poker face.

Bruce's habit of staying shut unless really spoken to or he has to make a point or discuss stuff with Tony and/or Rose. Thor had yet not returned, even if he did have a room for himself in the tower.

Steve's rules and expectations from others, often channeling his 40's mannerisms and being confused at modern references around him, though the team was helping him with it.

And then there were the Starks. Both of them were rarely seen in the tower but would pop up at any sudden time. Tony usually wouldn't wake up till lunchtime and then spent the rest of his time in the lab, creating or modifying stuff for himself and the team, when not spending time with Pepper. Rose was an early riser. By the time the team would be there for the breakfast, she would leave for the office and wouldn't return until late evening. Any spare time, she would be found reading some weird books, which Nat had pointed to them was written in Archaic Latin or working in her own lab or helping Tony in the lab.

And right now they were having dinner. the whole team was there except Rose, Pepper, and Thor. Clint was complaining about the hardness of the mattress of his bed, glaring at Tony when the elevator dinged open, getting all there attention. Rose stepped out, dressed up in a beige full-sleeve blouse with deep neckline tucked inside black trousers. Her pink hair was in a wavy low ponytail, her newly cut fringes framing her face. Her high heels clicked on the linoleum floor as she entered, talking into her phone

"Of course,...uh-huh...I get it, Mr. Gillman. You don't have to worry. I'll personally overlook the entire process...yes, of course.." she laughed "it's been my pleasure..." she chuckled and hung up, just as she took a seat next to Tony, keeping her phone on the table and giving out a tired sigh. Nat gave her a once over and passed over dinner to her. Rose looked at food and then at the assassin as a beam broke out on her face

"You are god-sent," Rose said and started eating her food

"tough day?" Tony asked

"Kind of" she replied, nodding

"Where's Pepper?" Tony asked

"she and Brittany are going over some patents and funding. I offered to stay, but Pep literally kicked me out"

Tony chuckled loudly, earning a glare from his daughter

"Your girlfriend kicked me out of my own office and you find it funny?" she raised her brow

"What do you want me to say?" Tony asked, still amused

Rose harrumphed and went back to her food.

"Who made dis?" she asked after a while, mouth full of food

"Why?" Clint asked, peeking at her

"Just answer, birdbrain" she deadpanned, swallowing the food

"I did," Nat said, sitting opposite to Rose

"I might need the recipe. it's too good" she grinned at the assassin who just smiled in return

"who was on the phone?" Tony asked

"Trevor Gillman" she replied

"Turtle-head?" Tony asked

"Hmm-mm" Rose nodded "He sent his 7th application for SI to fund his research. And this time it looks legit. I need to go over that once, though"

"He does realize that Crapplets are not worth anything, right? they were never worth anything"

Rose shrugged "He promised to have upgraded them. And considering his position, I have to entertain him," she looked at Tony " no matter how much I hate turtle-head"

"So, Cap," Steve looked up from his food towards Clint "Fury mention any new mission?"

"Not yet" Steve replied

"It's a little radio silence from him" Clint muttered

"Maybe he fell down, hit his head and lost his memory" Tony snorted

"That's highly unlikely" Bruce jutted in

"Maybe he's giving us some vacay-time" Clint shrugged, a grin forming "I'm thinking Hawaii"

"right" Natasha scoffed

"That reminds of three things to talk before I forget them" Rose spoke up, keeping the spoon on the empty plate and turning to completely face Tony

"Pep told me to tell you about some teddy bear."

Tony's eyes widened a little after a few seconds "right" he nodded

"I do not need to know" Rose scrunched her face before shaking her head once "anyway, two, I have a meeting in Berlin day after tomorrow after which I'm heading to London"

"Why?"

"Fleur's pregnant" Rose smiled

"again?" Tony chuckled "Bill's having a third kid?"

"Yup" Rose grinned

"Who's that?" Clint asked

"Sister-in-law" Rose replied, causing Clint to choke on his food. Bruce handed him a glass of water and rubbed his back while looking at Rose in confusion

"Wai-what?" Clint demanded, "You have a brother?"

Both Rose and Tony gave him a look

"I have five older brothers" she replied "and a younger sister"

Steve blinked. Rose had six siblings? Why was he only finding it now?

"Not mine" Tony added

"Anyway," Rose began "So she wants to go to France to break the news to her parents. And Percy and Ron are heading out on ministry business. Angie got a match and George is going with her. Audrey's going to her parents' too. So I volunteered to babysit all the kids"

"All of them?" Tony asked

"It's not like I haven't done it before, is it?" Rose asked "Besides, it's just Vicky, Dom, Lucy, Molly and Freddie for two days. You'll be fine"

Tony pouted at her for a split second but changed before anyone could notice. If any, *cough*Natasha*couch* even did, they didn't comment

"And third and quite important" she turned to face everyone "Tomorrow night's a charity gala event. I was asked if the Avengers could make an appearance. Naturally, I didn't make any promises. and I wanted to ask if you guys could make it?"

"I don't have a dress," Nat said

"Take one from me" Rose simply replied

"You wouldn't have any Armani, would you?" Nat raised her brow

"I have Ralph Lauren" Rose grinned

"I'm in"

"Well, it's a Stark Party. I'd like to see if the rumors are actually true" Clint grinned "I'm coming"

"Bruce?" Rose asked

"I don't do well with crowds" Bruce nervously replied

"You don't have to give any interview unless you want to. I promise you'll be left undisturbed." Rose smiled

"Yeah Bruce, come to the party" Tony grinned

"Fine" Bruce tiredly sighed "But I don't have a su-"

"Borrow mine" Tony quickly said "Cap?"

Steve found all of them looking at him in anticipation. Something told him that 'No' would not be taken as an answer

"Okay" Steve nodded

"What about Thor?" Bruce asked

"Not that I hate the guy or something, but he's not really used to earthly customs. I did send him an invite, though. if he turns up, well and good. If not," Rose just shrugged, taking another spoonful

"Great" Tony smiled "Now that it's all been sorted and I have a very important project coming up to be finished within the next two da-"

"You are coming" Rose deadpanned, standing up to keep her plate in the sink

"I'm not!"

"Don't be a wanker" Rose replied, turning again to face Tony "You have to come"

"I'm not a people person, Rosie" Tony tried again

"I wasn't asking" she replied, crossing her arms 

"Spent some quality time in the UK?" It was Nat who asked that

"Huh?" Rose looked at her

"You are quite fluent in British slangs"

"That's because I'm British" Rose replied casually

"Okay, time out!" Clint declared "How come we are just finding out that you have a whole secret horde of siblings no one ever knew and that you are British? You are American! Your birth certificate says so"

Rose raised a brow at that

"I'm part American, part British and part Italian" she replied

"And now she's Italian" Clint complained, making Rose frown

"My mum was British. I did my schooling in Scotland. Maria Stark was Italian. Dad's half Italian" she shrugged "Get a grip, Katniss" with that she turned towards Tony "Party's at 9. and you are coming" with that she turned and left, heels clicking sharply

It had been a little over 8 months, almost 9, they had all known each other and had been in contact, but it was the first time any of them had heard Rose mention her mother in a conversation

"Control freak!" Tony called after her but she just ignored it

silence settled on the dining table before Clint spoke up again

"You are half Italian?"

* * *

Tony groaned, throwing his hands up. He quickly removed the messy tie from around his neck and threw it on the bed, adjusting the collar of his white shirt. And he would never be ashamed of the fact that he could never tie a tie. Sometimes he managed out of fluke, but the majority of times, nope. The tie would never cooperate when he would want it too.

He was Tony-effing-Stark. He was Iron Man. He can and will make a tuxedo work without a tie. Etiquette and rules are damned

* * *

It was 8.45 when they all met in the Communal floor. Despite trying not to stand out, Bruce was given a dark blue tuxedo coat with black hints which he wore with a black bowtie over his white shirt and black tuxedo slacks. Clint was grinning, wearing a dark grey suit with a white shirt and black tie. Steve had tried to remain traditional with a black tuxedo, white shirt, and black tie.

"Where are the girls?" Bruce asked, checking his wristwatch, again

"I think the bigger question is, where is Tony?" Clint chuckled "He sure is taking as much as the girls"

"I just had a minor issue"

the three men turned around to see Tony walking down the stairs, cuffing his tuxedo jacket's sleeves. Once done, he shook his arms once before looking to see all three of them looking at him

"What?" he raised a brow

Bruce seemed to speak, but then shut his mouth and shook his head "The girls?" he asked instead

"Relax," Tony said, walking to the bar and pouring himself a drink

"The gala hasn't started yet and you are drinking?" Steve couldn't help but ask

"I'm not going to drink and drive. I know the laws, Stars, and Stripes" Tony replied, gulping the drink. He was just pouring himself another when a sound of heels came around. And soon Natasha appeared dressed in a beautiful figure-hugging sleeveless deep blue gown. Her short red hair was straightened as it reached about her chin, one side tucked behind a simple blue barette. Her lips were pretty pink but she looked gorgeous

"Huh" Tony was the first to break the silence, raising the glass to drink "You clean up well, Romanoff"

"You already knew that" she replied with a roll of her eyes

"You look gorgeous" Steve smiled. 

"Thanks, Steve" she smiled

"Is that Rose's dress?" Tony asked again

"she let me borrow one" Nat replied, "Is that a problem?"

Tony shrugged "Not from this side"

The elevator dinged and stepped out Rose.

Steve was pretty sure he had literally stopped breathing from the moment he had looked at her

She wore a sleeveless black dress with a very plunging neckline, almost went past her chest. A piece of velvet surrounded her waist after which it was just a huge bunch of tulle. A good amount of black sequins started from the waistline but soon disappeared before reaching her knee, which gave a view of her legs perfectly through the transparent black material. Her pink hair was in an updo, her fringes reaching her eyebrows and framing the rest of her face. A pair of beautiful diamond drop earrings marked her ears, her lips deep wine red and a silver band glistening in her right-hand middle finger.

Entering into the hall, she didn't even look at anyone else but straightaway made her way to Tony, which gave the view of her half bareback.

"You didn't wear a tie?" she asked softly, resting her black clutch on the counter

This brought Steve back. He slightly shook his head and turned to look out of the window. Actually anywhere but at Rose would be a better option. He felt his cheeks warmed up and tried to mentally cool them. He couldn't believe that he was actually checking her out with her father in the same room!

What was becoming of him? Why did she affect him like this because he was pretty sure that since the time he was out, he had not checked out any girl in the way he had been Rose, who even now had been wearing more than many girls he had seen.

"Stop checking her out"

Steve again turned and found Clint, who also supported a minor blush, receive a silent smack from a glaring Nat. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one affected by the current situation. So why did not give him relief but made him want to also snap at Clint from checking Rose out too? Thankfully he had good self-control.

"I don't need a tie" Tony snorted as Rose reached and took a glass of drink from him, keeping it on the table and wrapping the tie around his neck

"I'm serious, Rosie," Tony said, "They won't kick me out because I didn't ear a tie.."

"hmm-mm"

Steve was pretty sure any man in his right mind would kill to have his tie tied by _the Rose Stark_. He wouldn't be caught dead admitting this, but he would also be one of those men.

"..I'm Iron Man, I'm perfect. A tie doesn't matter. It's not like it's compulsory to we-"

"It's done"

Tony stopped rambling and looked down as Rose tightened his tie a little and adjusted it before smiling and resting her hands on his chest

"Now you look perfect" she beamed at him, took a step back and checked him over

She nodded to herself and looked at others "Ready, everyone?"

"I was born ready!" Clint grinned jumping to his feet

"Behave" Natasha hissed under her breath before moving towards the elevator

"Guys, just a sec" Rose called out. She took her clutch and removed four trinkets from it, laying them on the counter. It had two simple bracelets and two rings "Well, this is the best I could find"

"What are these?" Steve asked, picking a ring, examining it. It was a simple silver band, just like the other.

"Special stuff" Rose smiled at him "Let's just say I modified them a little so whenever you feel like someone's gonna be clingy or ask one too many questions, just put them on."

"And then what?" Natasha asked

"You'll be left alone"

"Are you sure this works?" Steve asked

"They are field-tested, Cap" she smiled

"There are only 4," Bruce said, picking up the other ring and slipping it into his pocket

"Oh, Dad and I carry ours always with us," she said, showing her ring and tapping Tony's ring. She reached and took the glass before Tony could and finished it at once

"We need to go," she told him and picked her clutch, walking out. Tony followed her out, muttering something to himself. Nat picked a bracelet and walked out, Clint following her.

Steve looked down at the ring. It didn't look much but he had never worn a ring. He flipped it, trying to see if some chip or something was hidden on the underside but nothing

"Steve"

Steve looked up at Bruce, who was apparently waiting for him

"Sorry" he muttered and slipping it inside his pocket, and walking out

* * *

The gala was amazing. As soon as they had arrived, everyone dispersed. Tony had tried making a beeline for the bar, but Rose caught him and dragged him with her, ignoring his complaints and requests. Nat and Clint, apparently having more experience than Steve and Bruce( though the two were sure everyone in the party, including a toddler they had seen running amok, had more experience than both of them combined) had easily mingled into the crowd.

the two shared a look and unanimously decided to head to the bar.

Cradling the drink in his hand, Steve turned to observe the whole gathering. He finally spotted Pepper, donning a gorgeous all-white one sleeve dress. her hair in a ponytail and a pair of diamond earrings that looked very similar to Rose's. She was talking to someone, some man. She seemed to have spotted someone over the man's shoulder and invited them over.

Steve looked at the direction as Rose and a very tired looking Tony approached Pepper. Tony's expressions did a very quick 180, flashing all smiles as soon as he spotted Pepper with a man. Pepper introduced both Rose and Tony to the man and the four began talking. the man also introduced a young man, probably his son to the three. the weird feeling was back as Rose and the young man shook hands and chatted with all smiles.

Before anything could be done, he heard the music start and Tony asked Pepper for a dance, leaving Rose with the man's son. With a frown, Steve turned his stool around, asking the bartender for another drink

"One Expresso Martini"

Steve whipped his head next to him to see Rose, who smiled back at him

"Hey Cap"

"Hi" Steve smiled softly

"Thanks" she accepted the drink and turned to lean on the counter, looking through the crowd

Suddenly not able to start a conversation, Steve flushed before blurting out the first thing that came to his head

"Why don't you take a seat?"

"I'd rather be standing" she replied with a smile "Pepper prefers to have me introduced to new partners of important personnel during such events. Have to be on my toes" she spared him a look and a smile

"You didn't go dancing?" he asked, suddenly wanting to smack himself for not asking her to dance first

"Well, I'm not a dance person. I stay away from that" she replied

"You've never danced?" Steve asked

"I have, in the past. But I prefer not to" Rose shrugged, turning to face the bartender to ask another drink when,

"Rose?"

Rose's eyes widened slightly at the voice and a smile broke on her face as she spotted the man

"Reed!"

She quickly threw her arms around the man, who wrapped his arms around her waist, both of them laughing

"It's been so long," Reed said, pulling, but one of hand was still intertwined with hers. Steve narrowed his eyes at the man. He looked older, quite a lot for Rose. He had a glint in his eyes like the ones he had seen in Tony's, Bruce's and Rose's when they talk about science, their turf. and there again was the weird feeling in his gut, the uneasiness "Last I saw you was when you became the CEO. 3 ye-"

"4 years ago, yeah" Rose nodded with a smile "Time flies when you are having fun"

"and saving the world" Reed chuckled, causing her to laugh

"That too"

Rose's eyes snapped at Steve for a quick second, which Steve didn't notice at all before it settled on Reed back

"Reed," she began "I'd like you to meet Steve Rogers, Captain America, leader of our little gang of Avengers"

Steve hearing his name, perked up, pretending to be in on the conversation the whole time and shook hands with the man with a smile

"Steve, Reed Richards. An old friend of Dad's. Kinda like my uncle"

"that's great" Steve smiled a little brighter. though his reasons for saying that and Reed's interpretation were totally different.

suddenly Rose yelped, causing Steve to look at her. She was laughing as someone held her around the waist and lifted her up. She was put down as quick and a head pocked from behind her and Steve felt a chill run down his spine. The man holding Rose looked exactly like him. They could have been long lost twins!

Steve couldn't believe what he was seeing. How was this even possible? He was the only son to his parents and he had never...he was still a virgin.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked, the smile never leaving her face as she rested her hands on top of the man's that was around her waist

"you didn't think I would come?" he asked. How was even their voice quite similar? Steve might have to ask Bruce about it later

"I forgot you were in America. Didn't you had a meet in Monaco?" she asked

"No, I didn't. And I can't believe you forgot about your boyfriend! Such a betrayal, Rosa! Oh my poor heart"

* * *


	2. Boyfriend:II

Steve actually chocked on his drink when he heard that. Rose had a boyfriend?! She was in a relationship? and suddenly his head hurt. whether it was because of the ambiance of the event or the sudden revelation of Rose Stark's boyfriend, he wasn't sure. Probably, the latter.

But wait, if she had a boyfriend, then why did she do one-night-stands? Was she cheating on her boyfriend? Did he know? Was Steve supposed to know? and he was not-at-all jealous.

"Are you okay, dude?"

Slightly coughing, still, Steve nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin

"Sorry" he muttered, looking at the man more closely. His uneasiness had returned yet again, seeing his lookalike having his arms wrapped tightly around Rose's waist. He was shorter than him, maybe two-three inches. His hair was a little darker than his, messed up a little. His eyes a shade lighter, but still blue. But he seemed quite the contrast. While Steve prided himself in being calm and composed the majority of times, his lookalike looked impulsive and roguish.

"Steve,"

He looked at Rose when she called his name with a smile

"This is Jonathan Storm. Reed's brother-in-law. Johnny, Steve Rogers."

"Captain America?" Jonathan grinned, taking a step forward to shake hands with him "It's a pleasure. I gotta say, you got the looks. Quite handsome. My sister and Reed always teased me that I looked a lot like you, but I never figured that we could have been practically twins!" as if possible, his grin widened even more "By all means, do call me Johnny"

"It's nice to meet you too," Steve said, the feeling on unease increasing (it was not jealousy!), as he gave Johnny a tight smile

"Not a man of words, I see" Johnny nodded to himself, retracting himself behind Rose

A clearing of the throat made the three look at the man they all had ignored

"Well, Rose" Reed smiled "you wouldn't know where Tony is, would you?"

"Dad was right there dancing with Pepper." Rose craned her neck to look at the dance floor where both Tony and Pepper were missing. She scanned the crowd a little more but in vain. She faced Reed with a tight look "I can call 'em"

"It's fine" Reed smiled, stopping her

"You sure?" Rose asked "I can tell whatever this is, this is important"

Reed shook his head with a smile "I can find them. You kids have fun" with that he turned and left, merging with the crowd

"So, Rosa" Johnny brought his lips closer to her ear "Wanna get out of here?"

Rose grinned "Took you long enough to ask"

Johnny grinned and the two looked at Steve

"Until next time, Captain Rogers" Johnny extended his hand again, which Steve grudgingly shook

"I'll see you tomorrow at the tower" Rose gave him a soft smile before she let herself out with Johnny.

Steve pressed his lips into a tight line, taking back his seat. He quickly slipped the modified ring and asked the bartender for another drink. it was moments like these, he hated the fact he couldn't get drunk. Moreso, that the universe was probably laughing its ass off at him.

The first girl he loved, he left her when he dunked the hydra ship into the ice.

the second girl he had started to fall for, was a sarcastic billionaire scientist who had once almost died and now sprouted a boyfriend out of thin air

His love life sucked

* * *

If there was one this that had not changed ever since he was woken up and had moved around, it was this morning jog routine. Be it DC or New York he preferred to run in the dawn. it provided the workout but also helped clear his head.

Last night had been quite a bummer anyway. Clint and Tony had gotten quite heavily drunk. And it took all four of them and Pepper to lead the two idiots into their bedrooms. Bruce had stayed away from drinks most of the night from the fear of hulking out due to the toxicity. Natasha was Russian. She could handle her drinks better than more men. and Pepper had only had two drinks and was still quite sober.

Rose hadn't returned to the tower last night. And Steve had asked Pepper is Rose would be okay, despite knowing where she was

"She'd be fine. Don't worry" Pepper had waved him off

Did she know? Was it a regular occurrence?

Steve entered the tower, made his way to the elevator and pressed the button to the communal floor, leaned against the cool glass walls of the elevator, catching his breath.

He exited on the communal floor and then proceeded to his room for a shower.

The rest of the day went normal for him. Around 1 pm Tony had decided to grace them all with his hungover presence.

"How much did you drink last night?" Bruce chuckled, going through his tablet, as Tony stumbled into the kitchen, pouring himself a mug of coffee

"Not as much as I'm used to" Tony replied into his coffee mug, taking a seat opposite to the Dr.

"You couldn't walk at all without support" Clint chuckled from his position on the couch, switching through TV channels

"Like you were any better, Legolas" Tony clipped back "Where's Romanoff?"

"Fury called her in this morning" Steve answered

"Yeah, vacation's over. Get your asses to work" Tony grumbled again

"Not a morning person, are we?" Clint grinned from his position "I'm sorry. I meant afternoon person"

Tony glared at him but said nothing. He silently finished his coffee then exhaled before pouring himself another serve

"Is Rose in her room, JARVIS?" he asked

"No, sir. Ms. Stark did not return from the event last night"

Tony raised a brow at that but didn't comment.

And Steve was surprised. How come Tony was not worried about his daughter not returning home for a whole night?

And Steve thought it was a good moment to ask the question that bugged him ~~a lot~~ only a little

"Who's Johnny Storm?" he asked

Tony looked at him, mug slowly being lowered

"Johnny Storm?" Tony repeated "Why would you ask about him? Where did you even hear his name?"

Those questions made him realize that there had to some kind of not-so-happy history between Tony and Johnny Storm. He distinctly heard the TV's volume being lowered.

"I met him last night at the event. Rose introduced us. Him and Reed Richards" Steve answered

"Storm was at the party?" Tony narrowed his eyes and then shook his head "Richards was there?"

"I saw Richards" Clint butted in. Tony either didn't hear the archer or ignored him.

"Let me guess" Tony ran a hand over his face before looking at Steve "Rosie left with Storm?"

"Is that a problem?" Steve raised his brow, worry starting to grip him in a new way

The elevator dinged and Rose entered with her impeccable timing. Did she know that they were talking about her only?. the four looked at her entering at once. surprisingly she wasn't in her last night's gown but a pair of clean jeans and an 'I love Iron Man' crop top. Her hair was collected on top in a bun. She straightaway made her way to the coffee machine and filled her mug

"where were you last night?" Tony asked, earning weird looks from the three. It was the first time they had heard him use 'Dad' voice. Usually, the two Starks behaved more like best friends, even siblings, rather than parent-kid.

"with Johnny" she replied, turning and facing the four

Bruce almost jumped when he found Clint next to him on the adjacent stool. When he did come here from the couch?

"Storm?" Tony asked

"Yeah" she replied, taking a drink.

"Is that a hickey?" Clint pointed, jutting his chin at the purple bruise at the side of her neck.

Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling embarrassed. Bruce had found his tab more interesting. Clint was smirking and Tony was visibly pissed

Rose had the decency to let her hair down and cover the bruise, nervously gulping

"Who invited those two to the gala?" Tony asked

"They are always on the guest list. You know connections, allies...no?"

"I don't give a rat's ass" Tony calmly said "thought you and Johnny broke up for good the last time you were together"

That got the attention of Steve. Even Bruce looked interested

"sex has nothing to do with dating" Rose muttered. Steve was pretty sure it was supposed to be a comment to just herself but she wanted Tony to hear as well, and indirectly others did too. It just caused Bruce to cough uncomfortably and Steve to flush and rub the back of his neck.

Steve spared a glance at Tony. He couldn't believe that he could have ever seen Tony so worked up. Even when they had their spat at the helicarrier, Tony had looked calm, but now he looked like he might end up killing someone.

"and Richards asked me to give you this" Rose said, her voice meeker than before, as she pulled a folded white envelope from the back pocket of her jeans and slid that one to Tony, still holding her coffee mug

Tony opened the envelope and took out the paper, unfolding it. Clint must have tried to peek in, but stopped and retracted, probably not wanting to be on the receiving end of Iron Man's anger.

Halfway through the paper, Tony abruptly stood up

"Please don't start anything with Reed. I will not step in and neither will Sue. You two will literally end up destroying each other and another half of the planet"

But Tony was clearly deaf to those. He just turned around and left, feet stomping loudly

"Dad" Rose tried calling, but stopped, shrugged and took a seat on the other side of the table, drinking from her mug when she noticed the three pairs of eyes on her

"What?" she asked, her voice muffled due to the coffee and mug

"What was all that about?" Steve asked

"Temper tantrum" she replied

"Because of Reed Richards?" Bruce asked

"It's complicated" She replied

"We have time" Clint added, leaning forward in interest "And it sounds interesting"

Rose kept the mug down on the table, shot Clint a quick glare, and then sighed "You know about the Fantastic 4?"

"Yeah" Clint nodded

"A reference here and there," Bruce said

"Uh..no" Steve replied

"Fantastic 4 are a group of people with superpowers. It consists of Reed Richards, their leader. Sue Richards, Reed's wife. Johnny Storm, Sue's brother and Ben Grimm, Reed's best friend." Rose explained

"What are their powers?" Steve asked, suddenly interested in this new superhero group

"Richards is like living rubber," Clint said "Sue can go invisible and make force fields. Ben's got super strength and invulnerability. Storm can cover his body in fire and fly. He's a pyrokinetic"

"Pyro..kinetic?" Steve asked

"He can manipulate fire" Bruce answered

"Manipulate, absorb, start, stop and hell lot. Call's himself Human Torch after some WWII soldier" Rose shrugged

"How do you know about them?" Bruce asked, looking at Clint and Rose

"SHIELD" Clint replied as if it was supposed to explain his knowledge, which it did

"The group was quite popular and active from '05 to '08. Almost up till before Dad became Iron Man. They became inactive after Sue gave birth to her firstborn. Dad knew Reed from his MIT days. They had some...difficult days around then and after they graduated, putting them in odds. Let's just say leaving Tony Stark and Reed Richards unsupervised would start a third world war" she replied

"That's bad" Bruce grimaced

"You have no idea" Rose replied. "Trust me, if it wasn't for me, Pepper or Sue, these two idiots would have already killed each other"

"And you are dating Reed Richards' brother-in-law?" Steve asked. He didn't know what he was feeling at the moment. Sure it wasn't jealousy. What? No. Pffft. But...why was Rose dating the guy who's brother-in-law was at odds with her father?

Rose fixed him a look

"Are you talking about Johnny?" she asked

"He did say he was your boyfriend" Steve looked at her confusion as she rolled her eyes

"Please. I'm not dating Johnny. I've got better standards" she replied, drinking her coffee

"So why was Stark mad about you spending night with Storm?" Clint asked, "He was mad about that, right?"

Rose took a deep breath and faced Clint, leaning on her elbows, her hands enveloping her mug "I met Johnny almost 4 years ago. He used to be an astronaut. We bonded over science and have been hooking up since."

"But you are not dating him?" Clint asked

"Like I said. Sex has nothing to do with dating" Rose shrugged, taking another sip "I'm happily single and I'd love to be that way until I feel so."

"So Tony's mad about you having a one-nighter with his..enemy's brother-in-law?" Bruce raised a brow. that seemed a little far-fetched but still sounded like something Tony would do. But he also knew that Tony was not only well aware of Rose's habit of one-night-stands but had no issues

"Actually no." Rose replied "Johnny's a player" she shrugged again "What kind of father wants his only daughter involved with a player?"

"You don't seem to have a problem" Clint looked at her amused. But then again, anything that made the cool laidback Tony Stark lose his cool was too rich to ignore.

Rose giggled "I don't. Dad won't admit but he forgets that if he's Tony Stark, then I'm his daughter. If he can play the city, I can play this goddamn country" she grinned "I've been a player since I was 18. I've been in this game longer and I happen to be a more famous and experienced player than Storm" she shrugged again, finishing her drink "What do I have worry about?" she placed her mug in the sink and grinned at the three of them

"So relax while I go and make sure that Dad isn't building a doomsday weapon just to obliterate the Fantastic 4"

Rose moved and headed for Tony's labs, leaving a flushed super-soldier, a hard-thinking doctor and an amused assassin in her wake


	3. Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can you make the Statue of Liberty disappear and sell it to the highest bidder?"  
> "Only if I get 60% of the total price"  
> "Deal!"  
> -Clint and Rose

In the following days, they had been starting to figure out each others' quirks and habits.

Steve was definitely looked up as the team's dad- all responsible and clueless but caring. Natasha was the mom- strict and no-nonsense type but worried and cared about them in her own way.   
Tony and Clint were often looked down on as kids because of their weird sense of humor, need to cause mischief and unable to behave or keep their trapholes shut.   
Bruce was like that one uncle who didn't know what he was doing at a family gathering and was trying to calm and civil. He wouldn't raise his voice at all, afraid of getting hulked out, but did know how to strongly present his displeasure on anything.  
If Thor was around, he was also considered a kid due to his lack of adaptation into earthly customs and for a god, he still behaved like a teenager.   
And Rose, she was considered as a baby of the group for being the youngest and the busiest of them all. They could tell that she loved her job, but if there was one thing she clearly inherited from Tony, it was her forgetfulness to sleep and food while working on something. Tony himself followed the unbalanced routine and never checked up on Rose, leaving the duty to Pepper and JARVIS. If the team didn't know any better, they'd say that Tony didn't care about Rose but that would be a big fat lie. So while Tony was being watched over by JARVIS with constant reminders of food and sleep, Nat and Bruce took it upon themselves to make sure Rose was well fed and slept.

Rose and Nat had also started getting closer, being the only two women in the team. They went on shopping trips and spent some girls' day outs. Tony and Clint had gotten closer over their mischief-making and while Tony made a new set of arrows for him. Bruce and Tony were already close and because of that, Rose had gotten closer to Bruce too. Nat and others got closer to Steve, helping him with future devices. Thor, who had finally returned from Asgard, was now the team's focus. They were trying to adjust him to what it was to be a Midgardian and how different was it to be on Asgard.

What none of them expected was Nick Fury to drop by in the middle of the day with no explanation whatsoever. He had them all collected on the communal floor but before he could begin, he noticed the lack of pink

"Where's your daughter, Stark?" Fury asked

"Where she always is at this time" Tony huffed

"Stark Industries" Nat answered, "She said she had clear out the funding and projects"

Fury took a deep breath "then we'll proceed without R-"

A click of heels made him stop and look above. Everyone on the couch turned 180 to look at the stairs behind them as the last Avenger climbed them down, looking over some papers. She nodded to herself, placed them all in the folder and looked up but stopped.

"Uhh..." she awkwardly began

"Shouldn't you be in the office?" Tony asked

"Forget some papers in my room. I just came to collect them" she replied, showing them the folder "I can see an adult conversation going here. So I'll be on my merry way"

she nodded once and with that proceeded to move out, but stopped when Fury appeared in front of her

"this is an Avengers meeting, Rose"

Rose blinked

"Well, I need to be in the office within the next 10 minutes with these papers. So if you can give me the way, Director"

"10 minutes is all I need"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him and closed her eyes for a second before turning and settling on the couch between Tony and Bruce, unbuttoning her blazer's button

"Make it 8" she demanded

So Fury quickly began his charade, which was too much at the point. In the end, it just had Nat voice herself

"so let me get this straight. You want us to talk to each other about our pasts and bond?"

"Despite your differences, you are a team now. And I can't have my best being at odds with each other and the most crucial moments because they either didn't trust each other or didn't know something about the other"

"Just say that you want me to tell them"

All the heads snapped towards Rose, who was glaring at Fury, her arms crossed

Fury gave her the best poker face

"Well, thank you for wasting my time, all our time, but I'm not" she replied "I care about this team, yes. But if Connor or Kingsley found out that I let them all in on it, those two will skin me alive! Or better, sue my arse with super expensive lawsuits. And I want to tell you that my arse is very pretty to be sued"

"What are you talking about?" Clint asked but was ignored

"I've spoken to Mr. Greene and he has placed no concerns with the team knowing" Fury coolly replied

"What about Kings?"

"I was hoping you could write to him"

Rose covered her face with the hands and slid them down with a tired sigh. She stood up and walked over to Fury "No promises made" and left

"Connor agreed?" Tony asked, frowning

"He did"

"What was his condition?"

Fury set a look

"I know Connor, Cyclops." tony frowned "That bastard wouldn't do something just out the goodness of his heart"

"He'll be dealing with Rose directly" Fury replied

"You better not have sold my daughter to that sonofabitch" Tony got up and left

"Anything else?" Fury asked

When he received nothing, he turned and left as well.

"Am I only one who doesn't know what's going on?" Clint asked

"You are not alone, Barton" Thor nodded in confusion

* * *

The very next day they started Fury's idea. Since no one was neither comfortable nor did know where to start, Thor favored them all by starting first. He told them about his days as a young prince and his adventures. He told them more about Loki and how he was not always the bad guy. how their brotherly relation had been. and everything.

Clint went in next day, talking about how he became orphan quite young and then joined a traveling circus, gaining his codename back then. How he came under SHIELD's radar, and how Phil convinced him to join the Agency. How he met Nat when he was sent to kill her but instead he recruited her. Everyone felt some little stuff was left out but didn't voice it.

* * *

On the third day, after dinner, Rose cleared her throat

Suddenly Tony's hand was over his daughter's and there was a comforting squeeze, which she responded with a nod.

So Rose took a deep breath

"Well the big truth," I said "I'm a witch"

Silence. it was so silent, they all could hear each other's breathing

"Right" Clint replied quickly and went to lick the dessert from the bowl

"I'm serious," Rose said

"No, you are not." Clint scoffed

"I'm afraid I agree with Barton here, Lady Rose. Midgard doesn't have magic" Thor nodded

Rose sighed, giving the two a look before she loudly clapped her hand, getting everyone's attention.

"Avis" she whispered under her breath and opened her palms and four small bluebirds flew out, which actually got everyone's attention. One of the birds even settled on their kitchen island and hopped to Bruce's plate, taking a small of remaining bacon before flying out of the window

"You were saying?"

Four surprised faces turned Rose, who looked infinitely smug. The four looked shocked and surprised, staring like Rose had grown a second head. Natasha had her best poker face. it was again all silent which was broken by Tony's laughter.

"This is precious!" Tony wheezed out, holding his chest where the arc reactor earlier was "JARVIS, I hope you recorded the whole thing"

"Of course I did, sir" JARVIS replied sounding as offended as an AI could

"Midgard has magic?" Thor asked

"Yes Thor" she replied with a smile "It is not widely known but yes"

"Get out!"

Rose gave Clint a brief grin

Bruce still looked like he was thinking about it, but then he shook his head and nodded once at Rose

"It's...wow" Steve breathed but there was a small smile

Rose looked at Nat who had a small smirk

"You knew already, didn't you?" she asked

"I had seen a few things before I joined SHIELD, which couldn't be explained otherwise."

"sweet" Rose chuckled

"so what was the problem with us telling us?" Bruce asked

Rose took another breath

"Ever heard of Salem Witch trials?" Rose raised a brow

"They were real?" Steve asked

"What is that?" Thor asked

"about 4 centuries ago, a lot of people were convicted of doing dark magic or witchcraft and they were killed" Rose explained and then faced Steve "Not really. Many men and women killed were normal regular people, but there were a few witches and wizards involved. It instilled fear in my people from the mundane side, your side. So we made this thing called Statue of Secrecy where regular people are not supposed to know about magic and our world in general. Unless you are related to a witch or a wizard, you shouldn't be knowing about us" Rose rubbed the back of her neck "so I had to ask permission from the head of our government for letting you in on it"

"You have your own government?" Bruce asked, leaning forward in interest

"Yeah. Government, Elections, School and the whole nine yards" Rose smiled

"How is that possible for Midgard to possess magic?" Thor asked, "How come I haven't heard of this before?"

"That's the point of a secret society, Big guy. They are a secret. No one is supposed to know about them" Tony said

"Okay," Clint slammed his hands on the tabletop "So you are a legit wand-waving spell casting witch?"

Rose sighed tiredly. How hard was it to accept? "Yes, Clint. I'm a legit wand-waving, spell-casting, potion-making, and people-cursing witch. Better?"

Clint blinked before resigning and folding his arms "Sure. Better"

"any other witches we should know about?" Steve asked

"My doctor, Hannah, she's a witch as well. She's a healer, our equivalent of a doctor. Healing magic is her specialty"

"What's yours?" Natasha asked

"Necromancy, Illusions and Mind-magic"

"You practice the art of the dead?" Thor asked

"It's not widely known, but is enough to get my interest" Rose nodded "It is still frowned upon at some parts of the world"

"what do you mean mind magic?" Bruce asked, "You can read minds, right?"

Rose nodded "Yeah. it's called Legilimency. But other than that, I can play with people's memories. I can erase memories, modify any present memory, insert fake memories. I can also control people like Loki did. I just don't need a scepter"

And at that moment, Rose realized that the last fact might not have been the best thing to tell after the team's experience with mind-control. Especially when Clint's expressions suddenly turned wary

Rose quickly shared a look with Tony before leaning forward on the counter

"Look, I should have told that a little less bluntly, but I don't use that on anyone. Controlling people like that is considered a crime in my world. And I myself I have been controlled in my teenage years and made to do some stupid shit, so I know what it's like. Besides, I'm not going to read all your minds all day because I believe in something called the right to privacy"

"Can you separate fake memories from real ones?"

Rose turned towards the Russian assassin, puzzled, but nodded

"I haven't really tried it on anyone. Never got the chance. But I've done all the theoretical research and I should be able to do it"

Natasha nodded for a moment before placing back her best poker face.

"And you are an illusionist?" Steve asked

"Kind of" she smirked, "Want to see?"

At the affirmative response, she shared one secret look with Tony, who looked ready to burst with laughter knowing what she was going to do before she placed her hand on the tabletop, palm down, and slowly raised it. a little sparrow appeared, chirping and hopping around, wary with all the attention it was getting for a little creature.

"You can touch him" Rose politely smiled

Clint jumped in first, softly reaching for the bird. Seeing the approaching hand, the sparrow started hopping back, even tried to take off, but Rose blocked it's way and carefully ran her index finger over the bird's head which made it relax. She removed the hand and then Clint took over

One moment, it was a small birdie, preening its feathers under Clint's touch and at the next moment, it was a snarling velociraptor growling and snarling at them.

"Holy mother of Jesus!" Clint fell off his perch, Steve along with him. Bruce stood up, his eyes flashing a dangerous green, but he managed to control himself. Natasha also seemed startled, while Thor had conjured up Mjolnir, ready for battle

"shit!" Rose openly winced "Wrong prank"

"What is this vicious beast?" Thor's voice boomed

"Thor, calm down buddy" Tony placatingly stood up "this thing here is not real"

"What is this?" Thor demanded

"an Illusion" Rose answered, standing up and waving her hand through the raptor "It's just a magically induced illusion. See, nothing harmful"

Steve stood up first, helping Clint up

"So sorry, guys. Not the best prank when it comes to pranking superheroes. Sorry!" Rose winced again and notice Bruce, who looked a little green "Bruce?" Rose asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I..." Bruce sighed, rubbing his temple

"Just a sec" Rose nodded and rushed for the rightmost cabinet, which was usually locked. She easily opened it and started fiddling before taking out a vial with mild yellow liquid. She closed the cabinet, walked to Bruce, handing it to him, removing the cork

"Bottom's up"

Bruce took it and eyed it

"Trust me"

With a second's hesitance, Bruce gulped it empty. Slowly his body calmed and relaxed, his hands unclenched. Rose took the vial out of his hand as he opened his eyes, back to normal

"Bruce?" Natasha asked

"I'm good" he replied, voice no longer straining "In fact, I'm better" he turned to Rose "What was that?"

"Calming draught" she replied, putting the empty vial in her pant's pocket "I used to carry some because of occasional nightmares. But after Dad's anxiety began and my PTSD started acting again, I began making them in abundance. Feel free to take some from the inventory if you need it." she looked around "Actually the offer's for all of you. I've got a number of options. If you ever need anything, ask me or JARVIS."

"Not Tony?" Bruce asked, his lips tugging upwards a little

"Dad knows as much about potions as Thor does about mechanical engineering" she replied "No offense, Thor"

Thor just flashed her a grin and shook his head "All's well, Lady Rose"

"Well, I'm offended" Tony crossed his arms

"That's the truth. And that's the reason I keep my potions cabinet locked" Rose replied "and sorry for scaring you all like this." and her tone suggested that she was genuinely sorry, especially if she almost triggered Hulk "I really should have chosen some subtle illusion"

Clint walked forward towards the raptor and tried to pet it, but his hand went right through the dinosaur

"Imagine the pranks that can be pulled with magic like this?" Clint faced her, a huge grin on his face, mischief gleaming in his eyes

a slow grin formed on Rose's face too "I'm in if you are"

"In that case, you are forgiven"

Natasha loudly slapped her forehead "Whose idea was this? Rose's magic and Clint's mind? this is just asking for trouble"

"relax Tash" Clint grinned

"What they didn't know wouldn't hurt right?" Rose asked, flashing her own grin, which almost mirrored Clint's

"You gonna say something?" Nat looked at Tony. As they had come to know, if there was someone Rose couldn't say no to, it was Tony. Tony gave both Rose and Clint a calculating look, then at the velociraptor then back at the two

"I'll let it slide if you'll use pink glitter while pranking One-eyed Willy," Tony said with all seriousness

"Done!" the two chorused and shared a surprised look with each other, which only made them grin brighter

"I believe we may have birthed a new monster" Bruce muttered as he stepped closer to Natasha

"I agree" Steve nodded "I almost pity the person who'd be pranked by them"

And Steve did, hoping it wouldn't bite their asses later in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I hope you all are being alright and safe lately. I'm open to suggestions and prompts. If you want to go ahead, this story has been updated up to Ch-22 in ff.net. Do leave comments and kudos


	4. The Hawk and the Hawkeye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why would she own a bird? And a hawk at that!"  
> -Clint

Clint Barton prided himself on a lot of things. An archer who never misses his mark, an amazing friend, a super successful assassin, and a person with a great sense of humor. His younger years may not be the best, but one thing he had loved about his life-other than SHIELD- was when he worked with the circus. Those were some of his best years. His ability to always hit the bullseye had earned him the name of Hawkeye. And not to blow his own bugle, but Clint, never in his life, had missed a mark. Never.

But that was changed now. And that royally pissed him.

Clint had been in the shooting range, doing some practice shoots. Rose and Tony had built it for him and Clint had to appreciate the efforts the Starks made to make sure the team felt somewhat home. And in the back of the mind, he had made a note to ask them how they designed such a tough and amazing target course. And just from one of the skylights, just out of the blue, flew in something and settled on the target board, which made him miss a mark.

At first, Clint shrugged at the huge bird perched on the target and hit the target, hoping it would fly off sensing a flying arrow, trying not to be too pissed about the missed mark. But even after 10 shots, the bird still remained there. And if Clint could get anything from the bird, it looked pissed.

Clint shrugged again and went around the counter to collect the arrows so he could reuse them only for the bird to fly down and perch of the arrows stabbed into the target, still glaring at him. Clint frowned. He tried to scare the bird off with his bow, but it wouldn't budge. What was wrong with the bird?

Clint scowled. When he tried again, albeit more aggressively, the bird bit his finger. The stupid bird bit him!

"What the fuck?" Clint muttered, pressing the bite wound so it wouldn't bleed much. He quickly rested his bow on the floor and pulled the gun he always kept tucked in his waistband and aimed at the bird. Sure the world wouldn't mind if one feathered creature went down, right?

but before he could pull the trigger, the thing flew out and perched on his bow on the ground

"No!" Clint cried with his teeth gritting "That is fuckin' mine! Shoo!"

As if understanding that the bow meant something important to him, it clutched the bow in its claws and flew out

"Hey!" Clint called in, rushing after the bird that just flew inside the tower. He soon lost sight of the bloody bird and his bow. This was so not his day.

Still pissed, Clint climbed into the communal floor, arms on his hips when he finally spotted the stupid bird on the expensive wooden table of the Starks, his bow right under his clutches.

Clint glared at the bird, full of malice and all kinds of plans started going through his head. but before he could act upon them, the bird turned and looked away. Clint frowned a little. This was the first time since the bird moved away its gaze. Clint followed it and his eyes widened seeing the open window which big enough for the bird to fly off with his bow. He really shouldn't worry about the bow though. Tony or Rose could build him another one, even SHIELD would issue him another, but this one was his favorite. it had lasted longest and he had loved this one.

The stupid bird was looking at him again. Clint wasn't sure if birds were supposed to be expressive but it clearly looked like the bird was smirking, as if daring him to make a wrong move.

* * *

When Natasha came to the communal floor to refill her and Steve's water bottle, she stopped in the middle of her work at the weird sight that greeted her. On the couch was Clint sitting, elbows on his knees, chin on top of his balled fists. He was looking at, what looked like a huge bird of prey, probably an eagle or hawk sitting on top of Clint's bow.

Both the bird and Clint kept on glaring at each other, neither noticing her enter, do her work and leave, now confused.

When she entered the gym, she tossed Steve's bottle at him, who caught it one swift motion.

"what's it?" Steve asked once he had drunk enough water

Natasha thought for a moment before looking at him "Clint was a staring contest with a bird in the living floor"

Steve frowned

"What?" he asked

"I don't know" Natasha replied and she hated it. The not knowing part. She was Black Widow and her job description was to know everything around her. But she had no idea why Clint, of all people, was having a staring contest with a bird?

"Are you sure about this?" Steve asked

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, which made him take a step back involuntarily and raise his hands "Just asking, Nat"

"I'm sure what I saw" she replied, quite coldly

"Maybe we should talk to Tony or Bruce about it. They'll know what to do" Steve suggested

Natasha gave him one look and nodded. Neither of them had to ask JARVIS the whereabouts of the two. They were always where they could found the labs.

On their way to the labs, they purposefully took the long way and walked via the communal floor, where Clint and the bird still sat there as the rest of the world had just frozen, and glared at each other. Steve even did a double-take, trying to make the meaning of whatever it meant. And neither of the two noticed a super-soldier and a spy/assassin enter and exit.

* * *

"The readings look normal"

Tony grunted with a nod at Bruce's remark, as he placed the wrench into his mouth while he checked the layer of palladium needed with his hands. he unscrewed a panel and checked in. He removed the wrench fro his mouth and tightened all everything once again

"Looks good here" Tony replied, placing the wrench back in his mouth

It had to be only 10 minutes but he heard Bruce

"Tony"

"Busy" Tony grunted, the wrench in his mouth

"Tony I think you need to hear this"

But Tony turned deaf.

"Stark, come out now!"

Tony stopped at Natasha's voice and she sounded impulsive.

Resting back his head, Tony slid himself from under the repulsor prototype he was working for the helicarriers. And he was surprised to see both Natasha and Steve in the lab, which rarely happened unless

"Don't tell me Thor broke the fridge. Again" Tony complained, keeping the wrench on the table and wiping his greasy hands with a cloth he kept around the lab

"It isn't about Thor," Steve said

"so?" Tony raised a brow, resting a hand on the table with the cloth

"You wouldn't know something about a bird glaring at Clint, would you?" Steve asked

Tony blinked. He looked at Steve and then at Natasha. they both looked super serious

"Is this some 40's joke reference that I'm not getting?" he asked.

Steve frowned while Natasha sharply inhaled

"there's a big bird at the living floor, having a staring contest with Clint"

a weird glint of recognition flashed in Tony's eyes "How big?"

"You know the bird?" Bruce asked, "why?"

Tony shrugged him off "How big?"

"Maybe an eagle" Steve replied confused

Tony sighed and quickly walked out of the lab. The other three Avengers exchanged a look and quickly followed the resident billionaire. He entered the floor and sighed softly, the three quickly standing behind him

"Rouge!" he called

Both the bird and Clint turned towards him and the reaction was instant. The bird took off and settled contently on Tony's shoulder, affectionately rubbing its head against Tony's

"Yeah yeah missed you too" Tony deadpanned, but neither of the four missed a hint of affection in the voice.

Noticing the absence of a certain bird's attention, Clint quickly grabbed the bow and put it across his body.

"You know that flying rat?" Clint asked

Tony fixed him a look as if Clint had just humiliated JARVIS or any of his robots. Rouge was giving the archer his own glare

"Yes, I know this _him_ , Clint" Tony replied with total calmness "Rouge, friends. Everyone, Rouge."

"You have a pet eagle?" Natasha asked, coming forward to sit on the couch's armrest

"First, he's a hawk, not an eagle. A Ferruginous Hawk. And second, he's not my pet hawk, but Rose's" Tony replied "I'm surprised you never noticed her birds before"

"Birds? as in plural? more than one?" Clint asked, suddenly holding his bow closer

"Yes, Legolas, more than one" Tony deadpanned "And chill a little. Hedwig knows the concept of personal space"

"don't tell me Hedwig is some kind of big vulture or some meat-eating thing" Clint grumbled, earning looks from all the four avengers

"she's a snow owl. Seriously Barton, get a grip!"

* * *

If there was someone taking full advantage of Rose's absence in the tower, it was definitely Rouge. The very next day, the whole gang found Rouge resting on the table in the communal floor on top of one of Clint's favourite backup bows. To say Clint was pissed, would be an understatement.

By lunch, both the bow and Rouge were missing, only for Rouge to appear alone around evening. Clint had tried catching that thing, but Rouge always sensed him and flew off. And the worst was, it seemed, that Rouge had realized that Clint loved the vents. And from then on, Clint had found that whenever he was in the vents, the openings were locked from outside. Or something would be kept for him in the vents; something dead

Rouge was getting on Clint's nerves and everyone knew that. Maybe except Tony, seeing as he barely came out of his lab. Most of the time, Clint spent cursing and swearing at the hawk and a few hours later, some other stuff of his would vanish.

It had worsened, when Clint asked Natasha for a tracker to put is some stuff that might get Rouge's attention so he can figure out where the damned bird was stacking up the stolen goods. To his shock, the arrow he had fitted the tracker with was the only arrow that remained in his room while others were missing.

He even had Steve and Bruce help him but only in vain. Thor had laughed at them at this, but when asked to help, Thor had backed out saying that he didn't intend to deal with a witch's pet. Rouge always kept his guard high, which was very smart for a bird. Very smart.

* * *

Three days later, when Tony stepped on the communal floor for breakfast, even if it was afternoon, he raised a brow at the collected group of Avengers, discussing. Rouge was settled on one of his perches in the room, where he was given occasional glares from the Avengers. He walked to the coffee machine and made himself a drink, turning to freeze at the four glares and an amused look

"Do I want to ask?" Tony asked

Clint was the first to reply, frowning and arms folded "That flying rat stole my arrows"

Tony blinked. That was first for Rouge.

"I made you enough arrows to last a lifetime" Tony replied, taking a sip

"that's the problem! it keeps on stealing." Clint frowned "And it's not only that. It also stole my knives, bows and smoke bomb pellets" Clint's frown hardened

"Can you please not do that too hard, in case your face stuck like that?" Tony asked, which only made Clint scoff

"He stole my guns too" Natasha complained "all of them"

"My shield as well" Steve was next

"Your shield?" Tony looked at Steve was surprised. Okay it was going far with Rouge

"And my files and tab" Bruce politely added

Tony looked like the four were overreacting, but he knew they weren't. His gaze slowly stopped at an amused Thor

"What about you, Point Break?"

"Nothing's been stolen from me, Man of Iron"

"Great" Tony muttered

"Seriously Stark, call that bird off!" Clint demanded

"Barton," Tony calmly started "what part of ' _Rouge is Rose's bird_ ' escaped your understanding?"

"When is she returning?" Steve asked "she's been gone for a better part of the week"

"Ms. is re-scheduled to return in the next three days, Captain" JARVIS replied

"three days?" Bruce frowned "Tony, I need my stuff"

"Okay. Wait. Seriously! Hold it!" Tony frowned before they all pile on him to find the stuff Rouge stole from them "This is the first with Rouge so I have no idea how to handle it"

"He doesn't steal from you?" Natasha asked

"He tried once a couple of years ago. Got himself electrocuted. So he stays away from my lab and room" Tony took a sip of his coffee

"Tony" Steve chided

"Lemme think! Geez," Tony interrupted before Steve could go on and looked at one of JARVIS's cameras "Is Rose in a meeting, J?"

"Not at the moment, sir"

"Call her"

"Dialing Ms. Stark"

After a few rings, the call was picked

" _...yeah. that goes right there. And do refer to Ms. Potts if you having any queries...it's alright. Yeah, dad?"_

"Busy?" Tony asked

" _Nope_ " Rose replied

Before Tony could speak, Clint did "Rose? it's Clint"

" _Yeah?_ "

Clint glared at Rouge, arms crossed "Your bird stole our stuff?"

" _Bird? Rouge?"_

"Yeah, Rouge" Clint confirmed

" _What did he steal?"_

"my arrows, bows, guns, Nat's guns too, smoke bomb pellets, Steve's shield, Bruce's files and tab" Clint looked at others, asking if he had mentioned everything, for which he received nods

Rose loudly sighed " _Is Rouge there?"_

"Yes"

" _Rouge_ " Rose called, causing the hawk to look at the ceiling as if he knew where to look. Damn smart bird

" _What the hell, buddy? I thought I told you not to steal other people's stuff anymore"_

Rouge squawked twice loudly as if protesting or something

_"I don't care if they were black and/or shiny or if Clint pissed you. You can't take other people's things"_

Rouge's small head snapped towards the group of heroes, glaring at them with his grey eyes

" _And stop glaring at them,_ " she added, which caused Rouge to look away

"Did he just scoff?" Natasha asked,

" _anything else he did?_ " Rose asked

"Put a dead rat in the vents and locked me inside" Clint added, earning looks from everyone "He did it!"

Rose sighed again, louder than before " _Rouge, why don't you come down here to LA? it's nice weather and Hed's here too. Whatcha say, buddy?"_

Rouge looked at the camera and then flew off the window

"Will he be fine?" Bruce asked

" _He'll be fine_ " Rose assured him _"He's flown to LA a lot of times. Anyway, I'm so sorry about this."_

"you could have given us a heads-up, Rose," Clint said

" _Firstly, Rouge wasn't supposed to return for another week. Still, I'm very sorry about him. I'll talk to him"_

"so he won't steal things anymore, would he?" Steve asked

" _He won't_ " Rose promised

"Wait" Bruce spoke, "did you just say you'll talk to Rouge?"

 _"I've got magic, Bruce."_ Rose chuckled " _And Rouge's my familiar. Refer to JARVIS for further information on that"_

"Oh..kay" Steve muttered

"S _econdly, Dad,"_ Tony's head perked up " _know the black cupboard in my room?"_

"the one with the mermaids?" Tony asked, causing Clint to chuckle and others to smile

" _Don't laugh guys. Mermaids are very real. Yes, that's the one. You'll find all the stolen stuff in there"_

"Alright" Tony nodded

" _Grea-"_

"Hey Rose, wait" Clint spoke up

_"Hmm?"_

"You don't have any other pets we should know about, do you?"

Rose actually laughed from the other side _"Not here, no"_ she chuckled _"I'll catch you guys later. Pep's here so I gotta go. Bye!"_

Everyone looked at Tony as Rose hung up

"Trust me, Rouge and Hedwig are the two pets she has here. Let me go and get your stuff" Tony turned and walked tot he elevator to head to Rose's room. He came a few minutes later and kept all the stuff on the kitchen island, as they all took their stuff's back

"Well, I'm heading for lab" Tony grabbed his breakfast and left

"Well, good thing no more stuff would be stolen from us" Natasha said, holstering one of her guns

"Yeah" Clint sighed in relief before putting his hand into his pocket. He frowned and checked his other pocket and then all his clothes

"Clint?" Steve asked, "You okay?"

Clint stopped and rushed out of the room. He returned 10 minutes later

"Clint?" Natasha asked

"My phone is gone!"

* * *


	5. Second begginings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose: I took part in an Interschool magical tournament  
> Steve: Really? Wow. That must be so amazing  
> Rose(internal thought): I almost got burned to death, drowned and was used in a dark forbidden blood ritual. Oh and one of the good friends was murdered by the same man who was the cause of my parents' death  
> Rose: Yeah it was. I also won it

The punching bag fell on the mat with a thud, torn in the middle.

Breathing hard, Rose flexed her neck, working out the knots and moved her shoulders a little, as she removed her boxing gloves and threw them on the nearest table. Still panting, she walked to the table and grabbed the water bottle. It took three bottles before her thirst was quenched. Running her bandaged hands over her face, she rested them on either side, holding the table. Rose closed her eyes for a moment. She was tired from boxing and being in the tower's gym for...how long had it been?

She looked at the wall clock and tsked. Only three hours. She had gone longer in gym. And it was a necessary evil for her. While before she preferred hitting the gym whenever she wanted, be it the one in the tower or the local gym in Manhattan, but after her EXTREMIS 2.0 surgery, she was told to work out more frequently. or use magic more often. The former was a better option.

The only side-effect of the whole Killian agenda was that her core sometimes flared up on its own and radiated excess magic. She was to flush it out either through the gym or using it as much as she could. How are you supposed to use magic in one of the most advanced (read- the _only_ most advanced) tower in the world where an AI controls everything?

She again looked at the clock which was about to strike 8 in 12 minutes. Pushing off the table, she made it to the door, unwrapping the bindings of her hand. She entered the elevator and leaned against the cool glass

"Communal, buddy"

Her phone buzzed. She fished it out of her pocket, finding the emails Brittany had sent her for a recheck. Exiting on the communal floor, she made her way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of cool water. Her eyes were still locked into her phone screen, as she opened the fridge's door with practiced ease and took out a bottle of water, kicking the door close with her foot. Uncapping it with only one hand, she started drinking, turning around, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Hey"

Rose stopped and lowered the water bottle as Steve stepped into the kitchen

"Hey" she smiled back, keeping the water bottle on the counter and capping it

"You were in the gym for quite some time," Steve said, opening the fridge and looked inside

Rose shrugged "Needed to vent out"

"Hmm," Steve nodded and straightened, fishing out an apple from the fridge.

Rose had no idea what made her do it but she did

"You wanna grab dinner?"

Steve looked at her with a brow raised, biting in the apple

"I know this cool place a few blocks down."

"what about others?" Steve asked, leaning on the kitchen island opposite to her

"Others?" Rose chuckled "it is just the two of us awake in the tower, Steve"

Steve frowned. He did not know that

"I know Clint and Nat are on SHIELD missions," Steve said

"Yeah, that. It's date night for Dad and Pepper. They're in DC. Bruce is at SHIELD HQ doing some of their research work. which I don't get. Our labs are way more equipped and sophisticated than the ones at the SHIELD." Rose scoffed

"what about Thor?"

"Sleeping like anything." Rose chuckled "He returned from Niflheim this morning when you were on your run. Looked pretty beat and has been sleeping since"

"so that leaves only us" Steve nodded

"Yup," Rose nodded back "So?"

Steve flashed her a nervous smile "Sounds good. Give me a minute to change"

Rose ran her eyes over his causal pajamas and shrugged with a smile "Take your time. I need to take a shower too. Uh..15?"

"15 it is" Steve nodded

"cool" Rose smiled back and picking the water bottle, walked to her room.

* * *

Taking a quick shower, Rose pulled a pair of blue skinny jeans, a couple of warm layers under a thick grey hoodie and white sneakers.

"Is it windy out there, J?" she asked, tying her shoelace

"the recorded wind speed would be 11.5 mph, miss" JARVIS curtly replied

"It is windy" Rose muttered, pulling a black beanie and her usual black frame glasses from her wardrobe. She jogged her way down to the communal floor to find Steve waiting for her

"Did I take too much time?" she asked, making her way to him

"Just 2 minutes extra" Steve smiled

Rose smiled back "Shall we?"

together the two made their way down to the elevator ad Rose pressed the button for the ground floor.

"So, this place..." Steve started. In all truth, ever since the invasion and rescuing of the Starks, he got famous again in public. And the current generation on various occasions was worse than 40's public. And the last thing he needed was to have a fanfest while having dinner

"What about it?" Rose asked, looking at him

"People aren't going to ask about my autographs and photos, are they?" Steve meekly looked at her

"No" she replied with a soft smiled "Relax a little, Cap"

* * *

Relax.

he was completely relaxed. He was relaxed when Rose asked him about dinner. and now he's relaxed now that he's standing next to her in the elevator, which just surpassed the 3rd floor.

and he had been relaxed ever since he took a step back and viewed the whole picture. Rose might be his crush, someone he liked more than a friend, more than a teammate, but in the past few weeks he had lived along with her and others, he had come to a realization that the odds of his feelings to be reciprocated were very slim.

Rose was a playgirl. For her, love and sex were a game. Not something to be cherished or enjoyed. And from what he had heard or read, Tony had pretty much been the same in his youth before he started dating Pepper. But somewhere, Steve had an inkling that Rose's reason for being a player was far different than Tony's.

He liked the girl next to him. Had feelings for her. He wanted to be Pepper to Rose's Tony, but she was not giving him any chance. Far as he could observe, she wasn't even noticing him. How different was he to Johnny Storm, who looked like an exact carbon copy, who also had been one of her ex-boyfriends?

Steve mentally shook his head. He was a romantic, sure. He believed in happy endings and happy ever afters, but how was he to get the attention of his crush, who probably didn't view him more than just a friend?

For now, he was content with Rose's friendship, but it didn't mean that he wouldn't try and win her heart whenever the opportunity should present itself. the elevator chimed as it opened at the ground floor and the two made it quickly through the hallway and to the outside. Steve slightly shivered as the chill winds hit him and he closed his jacket's zipper.

"Here"

she looked at his companion, who extended a black beanie towards him. Before he could refuse, she stepped in front of him and stretching on her tip-toes (she was somewhat 5ft. 7in while he was a towering 6 ft. 2 in), pulled the beanie around his head, covering his ears completely

"I don't get sick, Rose," he said with a little chuckle

"Just because something hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't," Rose replied, stepped back. Steve slightly adjusted it to avoid some strain on his hair and then smiled at her

"What are you smiling at?"

Steve's smile widened a little "You a little adorable at times, you know that?"

Steve wasn't sure if what he saw was true or not. but he could swear that Rose had frozen for a quick moment and a light pink color adorned her cheeks. But that vanished within the next second and a smug smirk took its place

"Of course I'm adorable" she snorted "why do you think they named me the most eligible bachelorette of the year for the past two consecutive years."

Steve smiled and shook his head. She just turned and started walking. It didn't take long enough for Steve to catch up to her. Another gust of wind flew towards them, only causing Rose to snuggle deeper into her warm hoodie. She quickly removed her hands from the hoodie's pockets, brought her loose hair forward and pulled up the hood, securing it around her head

"You okay?" Steve asked her

"Yeah." Rose smiled "I'm used to winter. I lived in Scotland for 6 freakin' years." she looked at him "you're comfortable in winter"

"I'm a Brooklyn fella" Steve replied with a smile

"Good enough"

Steve thought for a second, deciding how to frame his question. If one thing he was sure of was that Rose was quite sore about her past. It was his curiosity about her past that drove her away to Malibu the previous year. And now that the two of them become quite good friends, Steve had no intention of ruining it.

"Scotland?" Steve asked

"I did my schooling there" Rose replied "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the finest schools of magic in the world"

"How many schools are there?"

"A lot" Rose smiled at him, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses "there are two in the US, three in Europe, one in Brazil, one in India, one in Japan and one in Australia"

At that moment, Steve realized that magic was something she liked talking about. He had just found her comfort zone and that felt like a victory to him

"So, why'd you skip the ones in US and go to Scotland?"

Rose looked ahead at the sidewalk, sparing him a quick look, "My mum went to that school. And all my siblings. Almost all of my family graduated from there" she looked at him for a quick second "Just because I have an American father doesn't mean I should skip on the school that my family went to"

Steve nodded with a hum

"I heard/read that you passed from Auburndale Art School. Is it right?"

Steve looked at her "That's right. Where did you read it?"

"At the Captain America Museum" she smiled

Steve stopped for a quick second before frowning "Wait, what?"

"No one told you?" Rose chuckled, turning to face him "well, in DC, there's a whole section dedicated to you in the Smithsonian. The whole memorabilia"

"Really?" Steve jogged a little to catch up with Rose

"You should visit it sometime" Rose grinned "So, Auburndale Art School? How good were you?"

"I had won awards for sketching," Steve said, smiling fondly at the old memories "I mostly drew comic strips," he told her with a smile

"Did you get them to publish?" Rose asked

Steve shrugged

"the papers rejected me most of the time"

Hearing no response, he looked at Rose, who had a distinct look on her face. A look he had lately come to recognize as her calculating look. He softly elbowed her arm, as she jerked back and looked at him

"you okay?" he asked

"Yeah" Rose smiled

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked

Rose spared him a quick look before shaking her head "Nothing important." she sighed "so, can you draw me?"

Steve looked at Rose for a full minute as he walked beside her. Ever since he had joined the team, he had been drawing her from time to time. Trying to get back in what he liked before WWII. But no matter how much he tried, how many times he drew, there was always one thing or the other, he'd end up messing. Be it her lips, or her nose, hairline or contours. He'd mess up something only to restart again. And that was weird for him. He might have started with Rose, but he had drawn the other members of the team too. It didn't take him more than a try or two to get everything perfect, but not in Rose's case.

He flashed her a soft smile "I can try"

"Great!" she grinned "Trust me, I can be a great muse"

"I don't doubt it" Steve grinned

Rose suddenly stopped in front of a small restaurant.

"We're here," she told him, entering the place named Motorino

Steve was taken aback a little. Knowing that both the Starks loved flashy and grand things, this food outlet didn't seem their type. For one, it was small. There weren't more than 8 tables with four chairs each and a couple of 2 chair-table sets. The lighting was dim. The patrons seemed like the regular person-next-door crowd.

Rose led him to a vacant two-seater table closer to the window. She removed her hoodie cap and ruffled her hair a little. Feeling the warmth of the place, Steve removed his jacket and the beanie, resting them on his lap. Soon after, a waiter approached them with the menu cards and gave them a second to place the order. Well, the menu seemed like it was meant for middle-class people and not for billionaires, like the one seated opposite to him.

"I'll take an octopus salad, Cremini Mushroom with a side of sauce." she smiled at the waiter, who quickly noted down the order.

Steve felt their gaze on him to realize they were waiting for him to place his order. Clearing his throat nervously, Steve scanned the menu of the place, which to his surprise turned out to be a pizza joint

"Uh...Brussels sprouts and...Roasted Peppers"

the waiter nodded, jotting down the order "anything else you'd like to have?"

"that's it for now" Rose smiled

the waiter smiled, nodded and left. Steve looked at Rose

"Octopus salad?" he asked, "they don't actually use octopus, do they?"

Rose beamed "Nah. It's actually fingerling potatoes, onions, celery, and stuff." she shrugged him off, sliding the glasses over to the top of her head. She folded her elbows on top of the table and leaned forward with a grin

"Lemme in you on a secret. Their Tiramisu is to die for" she beamed "I always order one when I come here"

"You come here often?" Steve asked, reflecting a little of Rose's gesture

Rose shrugged, her eyes slowly becoming a little distant "This was my mum's favorite place. Whenever she'd visit New York to see dad, they'd have dinner here. When I grew up, dad started bringing me here. We'd come here to celebrate. Uncle Rhodey joined us a lot of times. When Pepper became part of the family, she'd come too. But mostly it was just me and dad." she chuckled, shrugged "I've been coming here for near about two decades. and I love this place" and her smile grew back to a beam, her eyes glinting "And now that you guys are part of the family, I think you should be introduced to some our traditions"

Steve smiled "Who else did you bring here?"

"Nat. When she used to work for me, we came here a couple of times. I'm pretty sure dad brought Bruce here too" Rose shrugged

Following that, the two of them feel in a comfortable talking pace. Steve had pointed out how he and Bucky had a ritual of their own to a local joint when something great happened. Rose soon followed by her stories. Their food came, but the two didn't stop talking. They shared their adventures, their somewhat embarrassing moments and in general their past before they came together in a group.

While Steve had been honest on most of his part, the longer he heard Rose's stories, the more he felt that she knowingly withheld many important details. She mentioned participating in an interschool game and winning it, but never went into the details of what she had to do. She mentioned breaking a lot of school rules but never the cause or consequences. She mentioned having many close friends who were magical with whom she was not in constant touch, but never mentioned what caused the touch to deteriorate.

Following that, they ordered Tiramisu, one of each. And when the bill came, Rose took out her cash before Steve could

"I'll pay, it's fine" she smiled

"Rose, maybe i-"

"Steve" she softly said, slipping back her glasses on her nose "It's cool, hon. I'll pay. My treat" she placed the cash with the bill and stood up. Steve followed her, pulling on his jacket and beanie as they exited the restaurant and started walking.

It was a pleasant night. He was finally getting a lot comfortable around Rose and so was she. And he liked that.

"Hey, you wanna grab Ice cream?"

Steve looked at her in surprise. Ice Cream meant Sugar Hill Creamery, which was a long way back to tower. But somewhere in her eyes was a bit of hesitance and unsurety. And it was the first time he had seen those emotions on the CEO. 

"Okay," Steve replied. Surprisingly, their ice cream stop was closer to the restaurant. Despite his insistence, Rose brought ice cream for them both. as they continued their way back to tower, Steve chuckled

"What?" Rose asked, spoon sticking from her mouth

"This is the first time I've had ice cream in winter" Steve replied "Kinda refreshing"

Rose smiled "Pep and I like ice cream in this season." she shrugged nervously

Steve took a breath as he looked at Rose "Wanna talk about it?"

Rose looked up at him

"Last you told me you don't have a saint's patience"

Rose giggled at that, making Steve smile. She stopped and took a couple of deep breaths

"I wanted to apologize," she said, her voice meeker than usual

"For what?" Steve asked

Rose bit her lip, as she entered the park, still eating her ice cream and sat on a bench. Steve followed her and sat next to her as she began.

"First I abandon you here for no apparent reason. Leave out of the blue with no goodbyes or explanation. Then call randomly to check up on you only to hang up mid-conversation. I never even thanked you for coming to save me, dad and Pepper" she looked at him "I've been very rude to you. and I'm sorry about that."

Steve blinked at her. Sure it had hurt a little even she did all that, but Steve knew she had legitimate reasons. She ran a Fortune 500 company as the CEO and also worked in the R&D dept. He knew how much Tony meant to her. He, now, knew her past was a very sensitive topic

Rose grunted, making him look at her

"I'm not usually like this, you know. I just...I don't...I..." she grunted again, running a hand through her pink-purple hair.

"Rose" Steve softly spoke

she hesitantly looked at him. He wanted to say he never minded it much but that would be a blatant lie. Once he figured how much it had affected her, he just wanted to start over with her

"Apology accepted. And you are welcome" Steve smiled softly in a comforting way "Especially after you brought me dinner and ice cream"

That got a laugh from her. Well, at least she was feeling better now. Once calmed, she finished her ice cream and tossed the plastic cup and spoon in the dustbin before looking at him. He had already finished his ice cream.

"I never answered your question, did I?"

Steve looked at her, trying to recall what 'question' when it hit him. their last conversation before she left

"You don't have to" he said

Rose shook her head "I owe it to you" she inhaled sharply "Mum and Dad weren't together when I was born. They were just friends. In fact, mum was married to this other man, James Potter. James was sterile, Dad was sperm donor and I was born. I was..um..roughly 18 months, and this mad guy comes to my house in the middle of the night and kills my stepdad. My mum picked me and ran to my nursery, but he followed. she begged him to spare me." she snorted without any humor "he killed her and tried to kill me, but somehow, the killing curse bounced off me and hit him back. He died that night too. I was the lone survivor."

she paused, pressing her lips together in a thin line. It was the first time she had actually narrated her past to someone.

Steve eyed Rose. She was staring the ground in front of her, her voice was devoid of all emotions. Steve could relate, only if a little. Her voice suggested that she didn't care about what happened anymore, but somewhere it was a sore spot.

"Mum was supposed to call dad that night. It was Halloween. When dad didn't receive any calls for two weeks, he panicked. Rushed to Godric's Hollow, to find the house burned down. took another day to find me." she chuckled humorlessly, rubbing her hands together "I don't really remember my mum or stepdad much. I know what they looked like. other than that, I was raised off their stories. Dad would tell me as much about mum and James as he could."

She inhaled sharply "In the Wizarding world, everyone knew the fate of Lily and James Potter. Parts of it, if not everything. So no one approached me regarding my parents. Dad pretty much hid me from the world for about 18-19 years. When they found out that I existed and that dad made me the CEO, everyone blew their gaskets. The Board started asking for proof on me and mom. But it was easier to shut them up. The press had the worse, comparatively. Where some printed truth, some completely paraphrased it. They started printing shitty nonsense about me and mum.

Some said mum was, I quote _'a random low-key model who got knocked up by Tony Stark but couldn't care to pay for child support and dumped the baby on him'_. Some called her a slut, whore. Others said she was a gold digger and I was her ticket into the Stark bank accounts. This one time a reporter poked his nose where it didn't belong and dad exploded. We sued him and his company later, but after that incident, no one mentioned mum around us."

Rose leaned back, stuffing her hands in the pockets again "Wizards knew. Mundane assumed. No one bothered to walk up to me and ask what actually happened and get the truth out. You are the first actually." she chuckled again "when you asked me, I was so surprised, I didn't know how to react. I didn't know how much I could trust you with, having just met you, then. I was...lost for a second. My brain stopped working. And then Pep called."

"I remember" Steve softly said

"Yeah. I should have come to see you the next day, but then Dad's anxiety started acting and he said he wanted to move to Malibu for a while. and I couldn't leave him alone" She looked at Steve "I should have called or something. I just don't know why I didn't" she sighed "And I'm sorry for being so recklessly rude and idiotic"

"Tony flew a nuke into a space portal. He was a priority" Steve softly smiled and shifted a little closer to her "Besides, all's well that ends well, right?"

"I guess" she shot him a smile too

"So, if you wanna start over, we can do that?" he said, a little nervous

Rose looked at him with a smile, larger than before "I'd like that"

"Alright" Steve shifted to he was facing Rose and extended his hand "Nice to meet you, mam. Steve Rogers, at your service. A man in the future and the Captain of a little gang of misfits" his Brooklyn accent very visible

Rose laughed, shaking his hand "Pleasure, Mr. Rogers"

Steve grinned as her British accent bled in

"Rose Stark. A simple witch-next-door and a part of the said gang of misfits"

they both looked at each other before bursting out laughing

"God!" Rose wheezed out, still grinning "it felt good to have that off of my chest" she looked at him

"What?" he asked

"Nothing" she smiled, shaking her head

Steve shook his head in return before standing up "Wanna race back to the tower?"

"Wh-" Rose got up, but Steve was already jogging "Hey! that's unfair!" she yelled, running as fast she could catch up to him, their laughs still resonating in the neighborhood.


	6. Accomplishments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose accomplishes a feat by making the first armor/suit that functions entirely on magic. Meanwhile, the other Avengers have made an accomplishment of their own; Rose is not happy

Rose couldn't be happier. It was one of those days where she was proud to be the leading name in technomancy. And she loved every second of it. Especially now she had finished her suit.

After days worth vigorous planning and months worth work, her suit was done. Completed. Rose took a step back, looking at her suit.

In simple words, it was like a feminine version of Iron Man suit, but sleeker. The suit was black and purple. In the center of the suit was a new prototype arc reactor she had been working on which used magic to charge itself rather than Starkonium (it was a huge deal to convince Tony to get the new element rediscovered to be named Starkonium rather than Badassium). Other than that, the whole inner side was covered in every protection rune Rose had ever laid her eyes on in her life. Though carving on metal was quite a feat, but nonetheless it was done

"JARVIS?" she asked

"All scans completed, miss. everything is smooth so far"

"Sweet" Rose grinned. She literally bounced on her tiptoes and squealed loudly. And she thought Tony was overreacting when his suit was finished.

"Is that your new suit?"

Rose sighed dreamily "Yeah"

Pepper chuckled and came to stand next to the pink-haired scientist "Looks pretty"

Rose snorted and looked at Pepper "why are you downplaying it?"

"What do you mean?"

Rose tapped her forehead "I know you think the suit is amazing, cool, super awesome and bloody brilliantly badass. After all, why shouldn't it be? I built it. "

Pepper sighed softly and shook her head before extending her StarkTab towards Rose.

Rose looked at the tab and then at Pepper

"Don't pout, Rose" Pepper chastised "You were to already sign them. Not have me bring it up to you at 11.40 at night"

Rose pouted a little more, wiping her dirty greasy hands on her light blue pajama shorts.

Pepper inhaled sharply and frowned at the dark grey stain that was now very prominent on those shorts, but Rose didn't seem to mind it at all. She just took the tab and stylus from Pepper and signed all the required documents.

"There," Rose grinned at Pepper handing her the tab back "Happy now, Pepprika?"

Pepper just raised a brow "Yeah. very"

Rose most probably ignored the comment as let her hair out of her typical bun and freed them. Rose was still weaving her loch, working through the knots, when she noticed Pepper looking at the suit

"Pep?" she asked, stopping and looking at her PA

"How many life-threatening situations are you gonna get into?" Pepper asked, not taking her eyes off the suit

Rose raised a brow. Pepper was probably the only person who was not happy with Rose building a suit for herself. And Rose understood. Ever since Tony had made his suit, things have been downhill faster than a roll of haystack down a steep cliff. And she knew, Pepper was worried about her. Why shouldn't she be? She had the combination of Potter and Stark luck.

"Pep" Rose turned and faced her best friend/PA, and wrapped her arms around Pepper's waist, side hugging her

"I won't get in any life-threatening situation without running it through you. Fury doesn't send me on a lot of mission because of my day job, anyway. I'll be fine, Pepprika"

Pepper gave Rose a long hard look "You promise?"

"I promise" Rose smiled "And if you are willing to take bribery, I can build you one too"

Pepper sighed, but there was a hint of smile "I better stay on ground and make sure you and your father are not flying too much either"

Rose smiled bigger "Hey, I love you, Pep. I'm not gonna cause any kind of cardiac arrest anytime soon"

"So you are saying that if I ever had a cardiac arrest later in my life, you'd be the reason?"

Rose frowned "That's cheatin'" she pouted as Pepper laughed

"What're you gonna do now?"

"Probably gonna take my suit for a test run" Rose looked over at her suit

"Don't forget that you have a -"

"Presentation tomorrow followed by another meeting. Yes, I remember" Rose grinned "Now why don't you grab some sleep"

"What about you?"

"I'll go to bed probably in an hour or two"

Pepper didn't look convinced

"I'll be in bed in 1 hour, okay?" Rose tried again "Scout's honor"

"You never were a scout" Pepper deadpanned

"Okay. fine. Witch's honor. Happy?" Rose pulled from Pepper and took a few steps "Though, it might be extended to 2 hours"

Pepper's lips twitched upwards for a second but then she shook her head "When are others coming back?"

Rose shrugged, picking up a screw from the table and tossing it in air before catching it "The wonder twins just got back from a mission. and Thor's staying. They are probably gonna stay there all night"

"Is it alright? Them hanging out by themselves. You know how Tony and Clint end up like when they drunk together"

Rose waved it off "Steve and Nat are there to handle them. not to mention Bruce and Thor. They'll be fine"

Pepper didn't reply. she just took a few steps forward, wrapped her arms around Rose, which the young girl happily returned

"Make it quick" Pepper whispered, kissing the side of Rose's head

"Yeah" Rose grinned as Pepper removed her arms and started walking off

"'Night, Pepprika!"

"Good night, Rosie" Pepper smiled and then walked out

Rose gave out a huge sigh and tied her hair into a quick three-strand braid and looked at the suit

"Are we set for a test drive?" she asked

"Yes, miss" JARVIS replied

Rose nodded and straightened her black tee and pulling on her slip-on shoes, she walked closer to the suit. It opened up and once Rose was inside, wrapped itself around her again. In a second, her HUD lit up, showing all kinds of necessary data

"Alright," she said, "Are we globally connected JARVIS?"

"Yes, miss"

"Good. Import all preferences from home interface." she said then paused and then spoke up again "Including my playlist"

"Will do"

"Do a check on weather and ATC check, J"

She only had to wait for the 30s before JARVIS chimed in again

"the weather is suitable for the test drive of the suit, miss. May I suggest testing the limits?"

Rose laughed "It is moments like these, I love having you, JARVIS"

"I aim to please"

"Of course, J" Rose chuckled "Have the towers being informed?"

"Of course, they have"

"Double sweet. Now, are we ready for it?"

"Initializing flight sequence"

Rose looked to her right as the hatch opened and she simply walked

"Here goes nothing" she muttered and jumped out.

As soon as she was airborne, her thrusters activated and she was flying. She quickly flew over the New York skyline towards the clouds. She screamed loudly as the adrenaline pumped through her veins. It wasn't like flying on a broom. it was way better!

And she was so glad she had chosen to make the suit out of Aurelian Steel rather than gold-titanium alloy. Aurelian steel happened to be a metal indigenous to the Wizarding Europe and found in small quantities in Middle-to-South Asia. Aurelian Steel was as light as aluminum but 3 times stronger than regular steel. The particular metal was not mined often and also used rarely. Because of that, it had been lying around, absorbing magic that was radiated to ground for centuries, if not millennia, making it much potent than Vibranium. And because of this, Aurelian Steel could be used to both enhance a person's magic or absorb it.

Just like Wakanda, the Wizarding World had no intention of letting the mundane world know about metal so strong that it would probably take only a nuclear missile to destroy it.

"We are at 5,000 ft from sea level" JARVIS reminded her

"hmm-mm" Rose hummed "higher. I wanna see if Aurelian Steel ices up"

The thrusters powered up more and she felt herself going at a much higher speed. Though she had taken a precaution and added a magical rune on the suit which didn't let it freeze under any circumstance, what kind of scientist would she be if she didn't experiment stuff out?

"10,000 ft from sea level"

Rose just hummed in return.

"JARVIS, bring up my vitals"

A side of her HUD separated and her vitals showed up. Elevated pulse, naturally. still a normal heartbeat. normal blood pressure. okay. so far so good.

"25,000 ft from sea level"

"Don't stop until we hit a hundred thousand feet"

"Duly noted"

Her initial plan was to make it up to space. After the first portal experience, she, Tony and Bruce had been trying to figure out a way to make JARVIS work even over a 100 km (328,084 ft) range and she wanted to test that out. But definitely not without having Tony on the other side.

"39,000 ft from sea level"

Rose hummed. She vaguely noticed a commercial plane flying by but didn't give it much thought. She was around the clouds but she still had a long way to go. To her satisfaction not once did the suit ice or freeze up. Well, another accomplishment. Rose briefly eyed the clock on the HUD which said 12.45 AM. She had promised Pepper. Rose sighed.

"Mark the elevation, JARVIS. That's it for now. Let's head back to the tower"

"Trajectory course set for Avengers Tower"

she turned around. Letting out a yawn she blinked a bit rapidly

"JARVIS, take control of the suit. I'm tired. Wake me up when we near the tower"

"Will do, miss"

Rose let out another yawn and slowly closed her eyes. Sleep was just getting the better part of her when,

"Miss, you have an incoming call from Director Fury"

Rose frowned, awake all of a sudden. What did he want now, especially past midnight? She stopped and started hovering

"Connect him," she said, "what's up, Nick?"

" _where are you?_ "

"Aren't you happy to hear me?" she grumbled "I'm busy"

" _you didn't answer my question, Stark_ "

Rose sighed "Currently I'm.." she looked over at the elevation scale "35,000 ft above sea level." she looked down at the Earth "Actually I'm above China"

" _I need you to get to NYPD right now_ "

"What's wrong?"

" _Why don't you go and see for yourself? I assure you it'll make your day. I've sent the details to JARVIS"_

And he hung up. rose scrunched her forehead in confusion. what the heck was that supposed to mean?

"Arranging a trajectory course to New York Police Dept" JARVIS' voice brought her back

"Thank you, J"

* * *

The six of them knew that they had screwed up when the cops arrested them. Knowing the situation had worsened, they had all come without causing any scene further or resistance.

And the six also knew that they had totally fucked it up when a cop came to let them all out and they saw a pissed Rose at the reception of the PD signing their bail papers.

She definitely looked tired. Her pink was in a low braid, many strands escaping it. She was dressed in sweatpants, a simple tee and a hoodie, despite the coldness and they all looked crumpled.

And now they all were in the lobby area, not once did she look at them. She just signed the papers and deposited the bail amount( did she always carry that much with her?)

"My lawyers will look further into this matter," she said to a cop of the PD

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again, Ms Stark. Superheroes or not, they are not above the laws"

"I understand" she nodded "thanks for not making it worse though"

"Oh that would have only increased our paperwork, hon" another nearby cop chuckled

Rose gave him a loose nod and gave the six of them a hard look before walking out

"Free to go, Avengers" the first cop smirked

the six stood up and walked out

"she's pissed" Tony muttered

"Any suggestions?" Bruce was the one ask

"don't piss her further"

Rose didn't stop until she was good 20 ft from the PD. Natasha briefly noticed Rose's hand glow for a quick second before the glow vanished. Her clothes disappeared slowly revealing a black tee and blue sleeping shorts with grey stains. Rose just turned and headed for what looked like a black-purple iron man suit

"Aren't you feeling cold?" Steve asked, earning a glare from Rose and Tony. The glares only made him gulp and back down.

"Rosie" Tony started

She turned, tiredly tucking a strand of hair pink her behind her ear, and crossed her arms

"Look, for what hap-"

"Dad," she interrupted "don't. Just..." she sighed "I don't want any explanation. It's definitely not fine, but...just forget it"

"We're sorry, Rosie" Clint said

"Sorry?" Rose's green eyes hardened "Sorry?!" she asked again "I was tired and almost asleep when I get a phone call from Nick Fury telling me to head to PD at fucking 1.30 AM! To find what? 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' " she air quoted "were arrested for a bar brawl. a Bar Brawl?! Are you fuckin' kidding me! I had half a heart to let you all be locked up for the whole night"

Everyone, even Thor, flinched at the scolding.

"Our earnest apologies for what happened, Lady Rose. Rest assured, incidents will not be repeated on future" Thor said, which was the smartest move, probably. Thor was a giant teddy bear and no matter what no one could be angry at the Norse God for long moments

Rose just pinched her nose-bridge "I still cannot get it. Dad, Clint, I can understand. Even Nat, okay sure" the three accused frowned at the accusation but didn't respond since it was true "But you three?" she turned her angry glare towards Steve, Bruce and Thor "I mean...ugh! you three don't get intoxicated. What the bloody hell?"

Thor nervously shuffled on his feet. Steve rubbed the back of his head. Bruce suddenly found his hands very interesting

"What do you have to say in your defense?" she asked

None of the three knew what to say which would cause Rose to simmer down or at least not erupt her further.

Rose just gave out a tired sigh, then threw her hands up "well, I have some stuff to say. Congratulations, you all are banned from the best bar in Manhattan. And this is most probably gonna be tomorrow's front page news! So overall, great job!" with that she turned and headed for the suit. it opened and Rose stepped inside as it starting closing around her

"Uh..munchkin?" Tony called, sounding completely sober "My phone broke. Can you send a ride?"

Rose's suit paused wrapping around her as her glare returned on them

"No. I'm not disturbing Happy or anyone else at the middle of the night"

"How are we supposed to get back to tower?" Tony asked

Her suit finished, covering her face completely "Walk"

with that her suit activated and she actually flew off, leaving them all in the road. Thankfully or not, depending, the PD they were arrested by was in a little elite area of NY, hence silent and lonely at that point in time, except one or two people on road.

"Should we tell her that Steve was the one to start the bar fight?"

Steve turned to face Natasha and glared at her. Rose was upset and angry and that was the last thing he wanted her to know.

"so, subway or are we actually walking?" Bruce asked, earning a sigh from all of them. this was going to be a long night.


	7. Apology Gift Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lo and behold the unsophisticated and childish side of the Mighty Avengers as they try to make it up to the baby of the team!

The Avengers had become a family in the past weeks. A real family. They all had their personal likes and dislikes, loves, and hates. But if there was one thing that made them all collectively upset and cringe was a pissed-off Rose.

The pink-haired girl had been ignoring all six of them for about five days now. She pretended like they weren't even there. And it was getting on all their nerves

She'd wake up, get dressed for whatever was planned for the day, and make it to the communal floor kitchen. If someone was already making breakfast and served her a plate, she'd take it without a word, scrolling through her phone her whole time. If she found no one cooking, she'd make breakfast for just herself and then leave.

They all had tried talking to her, but she avoided them more than Bruce avoided being Hulk. It only had Tony and Natasha curse out her magic and not giving them a chance to explain.

And it was finally on the sixth day that Thor decided that he had enough of being ignored.

* * *

Rose looked at Happy as he parked the limo

"What's the schedule for tomorrow, Miss?" Happy asked a teasing tone in his voice

"Hap, please. You make me feel older. and I know you do it on purpose, so please, stop" Rose pouted

Happy shot her a smile back before shaking his head "Any important plans for tomorrow?"

"Neither Pep or Brit have forwarded me anything, so I can't say for sure. Why? Need a day off?"

Happy shrugged "My sister's in town. So I thought..."

"Take the day off, Happy" Rose smiled "I mean it. Do you know what's better? Take as many days as you want. I know you rarely see your sister so you better spend as much time with as you could"

"Who's gonna drive you then? and make sure you don't get in trouble?" Happy asked

Rose just leaned and wrapped her arms around her head of security "I can drive myself. and I've got two highly paid glorified babysitters who'll make sure I won't get in trouble. happy, now?" she grinned at her pun

Happy fondly smiled at her and shook his head "Don't let Pepper or Brittany hear you say that"

Rose grinned as she pulled and then opened the car door

"And you know what?" Rose leaned and looked at him "Take the limo. I'll take something else"

"Thanks, Rosie"

"No problemo" she grinned, before making her way to the elevator. She pressed the button to her floor directly and pulled out her phone. 214 messages? It was times like these she felt bad for inventing phones that worked around magic. And worse was that she had introduced the Weasley clan to the art of texting and something called Whatsapp and was a part of all their groups. She loved them, don't get her wrong. But sometimes they went over the top. She sighed loudly, not really in the mood to grow through all those 214 messages when the lift doors opened.

She looked up just in time to see Thor enter the elevator, dressed in pajamas Tony had got him

She didn't pay him much attention just went back to her phone

"Ceiling servant, can you stop this travel medium for a mere few minutes"

Rose scrunched her brows as JARVIS stopped the elevator and then looked at Thor, confused

Thor was facing her with the most innocent look she had seen on a grown man. It was just making it harder for her to stay mad at the Norse god.

"I apologize for the incident that took place five days ago at the fine establishment your father led us to. I was not aware of such Midgardian customs and I did not know that I hurt innocents until I was told so by your law enforcers. I understand that you quite crossed with me and the rest of our team and you have every right to be. But I wanted you to know, Lady Stark that I'm remorseful for what entailed."

Rose took a deep breath and then moved a bit closer to Thor and flashed him a comforting smile

"Well after that apology, you are so forgiven"

It only caused her to yelp loudly when Thor grabbed her in a huge bear hug. Rose laughed as she hugged him back, trying to make her hands meet over the Asgardian's back and barely managing.

"We are good, big guy" she patted his back as Thor withdrew his arms

"You are an absolute delight, Lady Stark" Thor grinned

"Aww, thank you. Other than that, we really need to work on some stuff"

"Like what?"

"Like no calling me Lady Stark or Lady Rose or Lady at all. My names Rose. and that's what I want you to call me. Just Rose"

"Understood, Rose"

Rose grinned

"I had also gotten you something from Asgard"

Rose scrunched her face again when Thor pulled out a beautiful gold necklace from his pocket. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Rose was never much of a jewelry person, except a simple pair of gold studs and her silver ring. but this necklace was gorgeous with all the intricate carving and the beautiful gemstones adorning it. Not to mention all the runes that were so brilliantly camouflaged with the design and engravings of the necklace. 

"I can't take it," she said taking a step back "It looks very expensive and precious"

"It is actually a gift from my mother"

Rose's head snapped up at Thor. Queen Frigga sent her a necklace?!

"I happened to tell her your tales and least to say, my mother has taken quite a liking to you. A mortal who is well versed in magic rivaling that of Asgard. She's looking forward to the day she'd get to meet you in person. For now, she sends her regards and this necklace for you"

Now she cannot reject it, can she? She tried to take it from him but he just raised the necklace. Understanding, she turned her back to him and shifted her hair as he pulled the necklace around her neck. She touched it softly and grinned

"I'm also looking forward to the day I'll get to see your mother, Thor. Do convey that I'm very grateful to her for such a beautiful gift. And thank you too"

"I will"

The elevator dinged only for Rose to realize that it was communal.

"Have a peaceful night, Rose" Thor grinned stepping out

"Good night, Thor" she smiled back as the doors closed

Rose gave out a dreamy sigh at the necklace. She really wanted to meet Frigga now

* * *

Natasha knew something was up. First Tony left for Malibu four days after their barfight-arrest. Second, Thor seemed extra happy since the night before. Like someone had handed him a life long supply of pop tarts. The Starks loved the Avengers but even they weren't crazy enough to let Thor get his hands on that much pop tart. And this trigger happy attitude of Thor was irritating.

As if her current problems weren't enough. Fury was not at all happy with the incident. On top of that, Rose had refused to acknowledge any of them. And she hated that. She considered the CEO as a little sister she never wanted but lately, Rose had become one of the people she had gotten close to.

What only confirmed her suspicions was Rose wearing a gorgeous gold necklace around her neck the next day with her black dress with matching gold heels.

Thor sat two seats from her and once he noticed Rose sit for breakfast, that stupid grin broke on his face. Rose even spared him a smile.

Natasha wanted to bang her head and groan loudly. How was it that Thor got forgiven by her over a simple piece of jewelry? Damn him!

But that also gave Natasha an idea. An idea on how to make it up to Rose.

The worse part, she knew she was not the only one who noticed the change of air between the Norse god and the resident witch. so better do it quickly if she wanted Rose to talk to her again. Gosh! Since when did she become such a sap?!

* * *

Rose loved messing with people. Riling up to the point where they wanted to pull their hair out and scream. She wasn't a sadist, no. But she just loved irritating people.

And she was enjoying her current victims. She was very well aware that her ignoring the team was driving the team crazy. So crazy that Thor made a special trip to Asgard just to collect a necklace from his mother. She knew others noticed it. and she knew that the bar was set up very high now.

Honestly, she wasn't expecting such an apology gift, but who was she to reject something Queen Frigga personally sent.

Rose would describe herself with a lot of words but materialistic will not be one of them. Sure she was pissed at the team for what they did, but if they were decent enough to give her a nice apology, like Thor but minus the expensive jewelry, she'd be fine with them. She had already forgiven them all but was just messing with them.

Just then there was a knock and then Brittany entered, carrying a cardboard box

"Whatcha got there, Brit?" Rose asked

"Someone dropped it off for you" she replied, placing the box on the table "there's no name on it, though"

Rose took the box and checked it around. No name or address. it wasn't even taped. Just a plain cardboard box with a flap tucked under the other.

"did you check it though?" Rose asked

"With every single spell I know, mam" Brittany replied. Right, Brittany was a muggle-born. Moving on,

Rose just ran her hand over the parcel just to be sure if Brittany missed something when she felt nothing.

Rose hummed "Thanks Brit"

Brittany nodded and left, her heels clicking away. Once alone in her office, she opened the package and blinked twice. Inside were two pristine bottles of _Stolichnaya Elit_. The best Russian Vodka in the world.

Rose picked a bottle and checked around the box when she found a card

_Really sorry._

Below it, in the right corner was a small red hourglass symbol. Rose actually laughed. So this was how they were gonna deal with her. She couldn't wait to see what others would offer as their apology gift. Not that she needed any of them. Even the vodka.

Vodka was something that rarely entered the Stark household. Tony preferred bourbons and scotch. She was a whiskey person, both magical and mundane. But she also knew that one bottle of this particular vodka usually cost from $70-90. Guess she was going have vodka for upcoming weeks

* * *

To her surprise, Bruce was third. 

Bruce did not have the same resources others in the team did. Honestly, she was least angry with Bruce. Half of the time the guy was trying to turn to the Other Guy and destroy stuff around. And Pepper had already given her a hard time for giving others a hard time, especially Bruce.

Steve and Clint, sure and she had good enough reason. So that day she had decided to resume talking to Bruce without him having to apologize. That guy was the sweetest cinnamon roll. And she was not going to destroy the beautiful relationship she had with him.

What she didn't expect was a whole meal set out on the table when she returned. Ranging from salads and appetizers to dessert. A meal to satisfy a small army. And everything was her favorite. It was a mix of British, Scottish, Irish, Italian, and American cuisine.

"Whoa," she breathed as a grin made it to her face. And it was things like these which made Bruce her absolute favorite in the team. Bruce who was stirring something over the stove looked at her and grinned nervously

Rose looked at him and tackled him into a tight hug

"I absolutely love you, Bruce Banner" she squealed "You didn't have to, but if this is an apology gift, it is one of the best I've ever had in my life"

Bruce laughed, wrapping his own arms around the young girl "well, good to know that my hard work paid off"

He looked over Rose as Thor, Natasha and Steve filtered in. Clint was called by Fury during the afternoon for some mission.

"What's with the hugs?" Natasha asked and the eyed the food "and the royal meal?"

Rose pulled, grinning at them, but her arms were still wrapped around the other scientist "This is Bruce's apology gift. Can you believe it? He made a whole meal. He even made Calcannon!" she faced Bruce "I'll repeat a thousand times if I have to, but you are the best!"

"And I thought my gift was good" Natasha scoffed

"Hey, Vodka and food cannot be compared." Rose defensively said "I love alcohol and yes, I loved your gift too. But you have to admit that the way to a girl's heart is through her stomach. I mean this guy can make Calcannon!" she turned to Bruce "Can I keep you? I'm keeping you. Bruce, you are not allowed to leave me ever in this life. You hearing me? Dr. Bruce Banner"

Bruce laughed again "Sure, Rosie. I'm staying. Now start eating before it goes cold"

Rose didn't need to be told twice, she just dived in. The way she was stuffing food, she could give Thor a run for his money. It was so un-ladylike. If the perplexed looks of Steve and Thor were anything to go by.

"Staup gibing me looks an' eat," she told them, a mouthful of food. She swallowed and looked at Bruce

"Who told you about my undying love for Scandinavian cuisine?" she asked

"I had a little help from JARVIS" Bruce smiled

Rose chuckled and shook her head. Right now, her main focus was to try everything Bruce had cooked. Too bad Tony and Clint were missing on such an amazing feast

* * *

_1.26 PM_

Bruce looked up from his StarkTab and looked around the room.

"Where's Rose?" he asked. He had hardly seen the young CEO since the morning. And for once he knew that she had skipped on breakfast.

"She skipped her breakfast, didn't she? I'll get her" Steve asked and stood up from where he was seated and going through SHIELD files.

"Sit down" Natasha calmly said, looking up from some fashion magazine she was reading. Steve looked at her with a small frown

"Did you apologize to her?" she asked

Steve scoffed and sat down, pouting and arms crossed

"Do that first" with that Natasha turned and left for Rose's lab.

When she tried entering her code,

"I'm afraid I can't allow you inside, Agent Romanoff. Miss has made it clear that she wants to be left alone until she finishes her current project"

Natasha sighed. of course, she'd do that

"JARVIS she hasn't eaten anything since morning. I need to get her to the kitchen. Bruce is making something for her"

There wasn't any reply from JARVIS. Natasha sighed again. Stubborn AI. Just when she was about to leave, the lab doors opened. She grinned, entering the lab which was eerily quiet. She looked around trying to find something remotely resembling the young CEO when she spotted her at one corner, hunched over something.

"Rose!"

No reply

"Rosie!"

Still no reply. and that confused her. Calling her Rosie always got a reply from her, mostly in the form of "Don't call me Rosie!". So far, only Tony, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Bruce were the ones to call her by that.

Natasha walked to Rose, only to find headphones over Rose's ears.

She went around and tried to take a look at what Rose was working on. It looked like a StarkPhone but a bit bulkier than the original version that Rose and Tony owned. Natasha waved her hand in front of Rose's face when the CEO finally noticed her

Rose raised her head and looked at Natasha. The assassin's lips were moving but she couldn't hear anything. Rose frowned. What was going on? Did someone hit the mute button on the assassin? Natasha frowned and then reached and pulled something from her head. Headphones. Right.

Natasha frowned at them then at Rose "How are your ears not damaged with this loud music?"

"I'm used to" Rose shrugged, sliding her glasses to the top of her face "so, what happened?"

"You skipped breakfast" Natasha crossed her arms

Rose shrugged "Didn't feel hungry" she replied

"Rose, you cannot skip on the most important meal of the day!" Natasha scolded

"Nat," Rose sternly said "not hungry. Besides, I have to finish this prototype by Tuesday."

"It's Saturday, Rose. Your day off"

Once Natasha realized that Rose was going to give some counter-argument, she just got hold of Rose's arm and started pulling her with her.

"Oi! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Rose demanded, faltering a first few steps, but then falling in rhythm

"You are not skipping more meals on me" Natasha firmly replied, dragging the with her to the communal kitchen. Natasha made her sit on the kitchen island stool and Bruce slid a plate of freshly made pancakes in front of her

"Eat," he said in what she liked to call his 'dad' voice

Rose pouted but started eating anyway.

it wasn't until she was on her fourth pancake that she realized how hungry she actually was. and Bruce was so sweet that he kept on making pancakes for her without complaints.

"Hey, folks!"

Everyone looked up at the air vents at the voice. Clint's head was peeking out and there was a grin on his face

"When did you get back?" Steve asked

"Doesn't matter" Clint replied and vanished inside the vent for a few seconds before jumping down with a white box

He easily made his way to the kitchen counter and took a seat next to Rose

"so I heard that there's an apology gift competition going on and I'm a bit wounded that you didn't tell me"

Rose just shrugged

Clint took a deep breath "I want to admit something. The bar fight, totally not my fault. I know I can be an asshole at times but I'm very loyal. Do you expect me to sit back when two of my close friends get in a bar fight? I don't think so. So I joined in. But I should have stopped them in reality and I'm sorry. For acting like a no-brain douchebag." with that he softly slid the white box towards Rose "My apology gift. Open it and tell me that it's the best gift you've received your whole life and how I'm the best" Clint grinned

Rose skeptically took the white box and opened it. A pair of bright yellow eyes greeted her with a shrill chirp.

A huge grin broke on Rose's face as she reached and cupped the little fluffy grey chick into her hands. The chick tilted its head and looked at her, chirping again.

If Rose's grin and fond smile was anything to go by, he was already forgiven.

"What is this endearing creature, Barton?"

Clint looked at Thor with a huge grin "This adorable endearing creature happens to be a Eurasian eagle-owl."

Rose's head snapped towards him and she slightly frowned

"Don't ask me how I got him." Clint raised his hands in a placating manner

"Katniss, I swear to god if you separated this baby from its fam-"

"What?! No!" Clint interrupted quickly "No. I didn't ki-" he paused "chick-nap this baby owl."

Rose raised a perfect black brow

"Look, I was undercover and some people around me were talking about this house that got burned down. I went to check in because it was related to my mission and found out that the family owned a female owl who had given chicks just a month or so ago. That chick in your hand was one of the only two survivors. And I know you love birds so," Clint shrugged "Sorry?"

"What happened to the other survivor?" Natasha asked

"CPS took care of her" Clint replied

Rose gave him a look but then the baby owl chirped at her again, tilting its head over to the other side.

"what are you naming her?" Bruce asked, a fond smile at the girl, who was closely looking at the baby owl in her hands

Rose didn't answer but they all could see gears turning in her head

"Arrow" she replied and then flashed Clint a smile "Whatcha say?"

"Approved!" Clint beamed, giving her a thumbs up

"I'm gonna make sure my newest kid gets comfortable" Rose stood up at once and turned to leave but stopped and looked at Clint

"By the way, Bruce beat you to that. He is my favorite and gave me the best apology gift ever" with she turned and left the communal

Clint watched her leave, horrified that he was beaten. He wouldn't even be that upset if it was Nat, Tony, or even Thor beat him. But Bruce! Come on!!!

Besides this momentary loss, he had gained one victory. Newly named Arrow might be an apology gift but there was another reason he had gotten Arrow to Rose. He had done some research and according to that Eurasian eagle-owls are almost twice the size of Ferruginous Hawks.

And before handing Arrow to Rose, he had taken a lot of care of Arrow, so the chick would never forget his face. Only if his Grand Scheme would end up working. Fingers were crossed

* * *

Steve didn't know how much he had blown up his chance with the delay of his apology gift. Hey, but at least he wasn't the last. He wasn't, right? 'Cause far as he knew, Tony was still left to make it up to Rose.

Steve was also nervous. He had no idea if his apology gift could compete with others. From what he had seen and observed, Thor gave her an Asgardian necklace, Natasha gave her expensive Russian Vodka. Bruce made her favorite meal, one that didn't take a grin off her face for about 12 hours. Clint gifted her a baby owl. Really, could he compete with them?

With a huge sigh, he stood straighter and raised his hand and knocked twice on Rose's door.

He heard some shuffling, some stuff falling out, and Rose to curse that made him a little uncomfortable, but then the door opened. She didn't look angry or hurt. She was too good at hiding it. Seriously, why couldn't he make up his mind on her?

"Hey" he started, then cleared his throat

"Hey" repeated, firmly this time "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Okay, sure" she replied and opened the door wider for him to enter.

Steve entered the room and looked around. The room was much bigger, more colorful, and way modern than his. The wall behind the double bed was painted in maroon-gold pattern design. The false ceiling on top of the bed emitted a lot of light, illuminating every corner of the room. Opposite to the bed was a huge desk that was completely littered with what looked like machine parts, blueprints, rough sketches of some weapons, and a living breathing snowy owl perched on top. One he deduced had to be Hedwig.

Other than the mess on the desk, the whole room was spotless. And it was beautiful, adorned in a maroon-gold color scheme. the orangish light from the setting sun that entered the room through the sliding glass wall only made the room appear brighter. Was it some kind of Stark family thing? The maroon-gold color scheme?

There were some scattered photos of Rose, different phases of her life. Tony and Pepper were in most of them. A lot of them also had Rhodey. and some others had a couple of redheads guy and/or a brunette girl. And a few other people he didn't recognize

"So?"

Steve turned around and looked at Rose, who was giving him questioning look

Steve took a deep breath

"I wanted to apologize"

"Okay" Rose replied

Steve took that as a green signal and went on "First, I'm sorry for what happened. And getting arrested. Second, don't be mad at Tony or anyone else because," he paused for a second before continuing "I started the fight. Don't ask me why. Just some stuff happened and I couldn't sit on the sidelines. Tony and Clint were just backing me up. And so were Natasha and Thor. Bruce was the one who was actually trying to dissolve the situation. And I know you were not happy about us getting banned or arrested or having to bail us all in the middle of the night, but I promise you none of this will ever happen in future"

Rose gave him her best poker face. She knew it took a lot to admit something like that upfront and she really appreciated his courage.

"I wasn't sure how mad you were at me and others. But then I saw them giving you apology gifts." he brought forward what he hand in his hands for the whole time "Not sure if it's any good."

Rose skeptically took the package and checked it. it was flat and medium-sized. Didn't weigh much. Was covered in brown packaging. Rose slowly opened the taping and once she saw what was inside, she couldn't believe it. Inside was a portrait of her. It was from an event about a year ago, before the whole Chitauri thing.

but the best part of the portrait was it didn't look like it was drawn or painted. it looked like it was photographed. It looked really surreal and she loved it.

"You said you weren't sure if it's any good?" Rose asked, feeling the paper and the colors

"Yeah, why?"

Rose looked at Steve and smiled softly. She just walked closer to him, reached on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips on his cheeks.

Steve was pretty sure his brain stopped functioning the moment _it_ happened. _It_ being when his crush kissed him on his cheek. He might be sounding like a hormonal angsty teen boy, but he was not going to wash his cheek for the next several weeks, at least.

"It's the most beautiful artwork I've ever seen. Considering I had been the muse" she grinned "I told you I'm a great muse"

"I never doubted" Steve smiled back

Rose just walked across him to the table and picked a black marker, made her way back to Steve, handing him both the painting and the pen

"What?" Steve asked

"Sign it for me" she simply replied

Steve blinked

"I'm pretty sure you just don't give out personal artwork like free coupons. If I'm getting an exclusive artwork from Captain America himself, I want it signed so I can show off to people that this is an authentic peace and not a dupe. And that Captain America thinks of me as a great muse to draw me"

Steve almost gaped. She was going to show off a drawing he made of her? Could the day get better? But then he realized everything she had said

"You want me to write all that?"

"Just sign it"

So Steve took the painting and at the bottom right corner, signed his name.

"This is so cool" Rose grinned, taking the painting back and hanging it over her desk

"Hmm?" she asked him over her shoulder

"Looks perfect" Steve replied

Rose turned to him and crossed her arms "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure"

Rose gestured him and he sat opposite to her on her (very comfortable) bed

"I'm just messing with you all" Rose smirked "I was livid about the whole arrest, but I forgave you guys in a day or two. Still, I thought of acting a little strict, you know, so something like this doesn't repeat. Next thing I know an apology gift competition randomly starts with Thor giving me a gift his mother sent for me"

"It wasn't an apology gift?" Steve asked, puzzled

"I guess it was in a way, but not really. The big guy told his mother about me. Frigga is one of the strongest magic users in the universe. And she was impressed by my talent. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that actually. A bit star-struck I'm. Okay, so, then you all got the wrong idea. Nat was the first with vodka. But then I thought if you guys are gonna spoil me, who am I to stop y'all" she grinned mischievously.

Steve laughed at that

"Well it was a great way of getting gifts out of us"

"It sure was" Rose laughed "I was getting pampered by the Avengers. I would never say no to that!"

Steve shook his head with a smile "Have you spoken to Tony?"

"Nope. Pretty sure he got to know about the whole apology gift thing" she shrugged

"And you aren't worried about that?"

"Dad always did spoil me." she shrugged again "I guess I'm kinda anticipating what he's gonna get me. Not that I'd need it. I didn't need anything from all the gifts I got. Maybe except for Bruce's feast and your painting, but I've learned never to say no to gifts" she flashed Steve a grin

Steve laughed again "You know you are a bit..."

"narcissistic, selfish, materialistic, superficial spoiled brat?" Rose asked

Steve shook his head "I was going to say crazy"

"Oh, that too!"

* * *

That night, all of them sat in the communal having a movie night. Clint had picked up Hunger Games because neither Thor not Steve could understand why she and Tony called him Katniss.

And they in the middle of the movie, going through a very important scene when the movie paused

"what? No!" Clint cried out "JARVIS!"

"Hush, you!" Natasha smacked him before looking at one of JARVIS's cameras "What happened JARVIS?"

"There's an incoming phone call for Miss from Director Fury. Since her personal phone is switched off, I felt the need to inform her"

"What" Rose muttered, looking for her phone on the couch, finally finding it under Clint's ass and it really was dead.

"Can you put him through, J?"

"Sure can, miss"

"This better be important, Fury" Rose grumbled

" _It is, very. I was, in fact, hoping you could shed some light on the current situation"_

"Current situation?" Rose repeated, confused

"What's going on Director?" Steve asked

 _"Is everyone there?"_ fury asked

"Yes! All of us!" Clint grumbled, "And we were watching a movie!"

"what situation is there, Sir?" Natasha asked

_"Stark, where's your father?"_

"Malibu" she replied at once, "He said he was going to overlook the reconstruction of the mansion. Why?"

" _Well, your father is currently at NASA arguing with the scientists because he tried to buy a comet in space."_

"What?" Natasha asked, looking at Rose

"I have no clue" Rose replied

" _Apparently it's an apology gift"_

Rose took a deep breath as others shot her incredulous and shocked looks.

"Yeah. Thanks for letting me know, Fury. I'll manage from here"

Fury hung up, Rose stood up and stretched "You guys keep watching. I'll be back by tomorrow with dad" and she walked out. None of them had missed the edginess in her voice. She was mad. Maybe madder than before.

"He just got deeper in the situation, didn't he?" Steve asked

"Totally"

"Completely"

"Absolutely"

"I believe so, Captain"

Steve sighed "I feel sorry for Tony"

* * *


	8. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One time Black Widow requires the help of the resident witch to deal with her memories because doesn't magic have an answer for everything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story may throw off a few people, but I'm not sticking with MCU Black Widow completely. Rather I'm taking prompts from the OG comic book Black Widow and incorporating them in the story.

Natasha stretched as she got comfortable on her beach chaise, ignoring all the shouts from around her.

"Hey"

Natasha removed her sunglasses, resting them on top of her head. She looked at Rose, accepting the beer can from her before Rose made it to the chaise next to her and relaxed, opening her own beer can, leaning back and closing her eyes.

It was Sunday and their all-day off. No missions, no meetings, or reports. Just lean back and relax. Clint had found out about the indoor pool on the 63rd floor of the building and asked if it could be used. It only led to having them all have a mini-vacation at the amazing enormous open sky indoor pool.

"You girls coming into the water?"

Natasha raised her head and looked at Clint grinning at them from the pool

"I'll pass" Rose replied, not even looking at Clint

"Nat?"

"I'm fine, Clint" she replied

"Hey, Barton! Get back to the game!" Steve called

Clint gave the two a cautious glance before getting into the pool.

"You don't have to wait on my account"

Natasha turned to Rose, who was now looking at her

"It's not like that" Natasha replied, looking back at the men who were playing volleyball in the pool. The teams were divided as Tony, Clint, and Bruce on one side v/s Thor and Steve. Even with the uneven distribution of the team, both sides were giving each other a run for their money by their close scores

"Then what is it?"

Natasha looked at Rose, giving the young girl the best poker face "Where's Pepper?"

"Visiting her mom. You didn't answer me" Rose replied, "Is something bothering you?"

Rose was concerned for the Black Widow. She was one of the most stable people in the group. Showing the least amount of reaction. But if something was bothering her, it had to be huge and important

What only confirmed Rose's fears was when Natasha pressed her lips in a grim line

"Natasha?" Rose sat straighter, removed her sunglasses, off-mindedly adjusting her high waisted bikini, looking at the assassin in concern

"Can I talk to you?" Natasha finally asked "Alone"

Rose perispherically noticed that the men were still playing. But she was sure that Clint, and maybe to some degree Steve and Tony, had suspected something.

"Okay," Rose nodded and got up stretching on her tiptoes, turning to the others "You guys hungry?"

"Starvi-owww!" the volleyball smacked Steve right across his face. Everyone around started laughing. Steve glowered, picking up the volleyball and aiming before, before it hit Clint right on the face, throwing him in the water

"Well, Nat and I are gonna whip up something. Until then, don't destroy the pool"

Natasha stood up, putting a sarong around her sky blue bikini. Rose flashed her a huge smile, linked her arm with Nat's, and the two women walked inside.

Once inside a makeshift kitchen that was on the floor, Rose peeked inside the fridge for some stuff while Natasha checked the cabins

"What's going on Nat?" Rose asked, pulling out some nut butter from the fridge and a carton of eggs, before closing it with her foot

Nat inhaled loudly, leaning against the counter, arms on her either side "You said you could separate real and fake memories"

Rose raised her brow at Natasha, as she kept a pan on the stove and started peeling bananas.

"I said I know how to do it, theoretically. I've never tested that theory" Rose cracked an egg over the oiled pan before looking at Nat again "what's it about?"

Natasha looked down at the linoleum wood floor while she answered: "What do you know about Red Room?"

"They launched their Black Widow program back around 1945 where they trained young girls to become the perfect assassins by giving their own version of Super-Soldier Serum"

"1944, actually" Natasha corrected

"That's where you were trained" Rose softly added

"Hmm-mm" Natasha nodded "I was their first and best Black Widow"

Rose knew from the files she had hacked that Natasha was way older than she appeared. But that never bothered her. Natasha was not a perfect role model of a human being but she was also far from flawed.

"What's with the reminiscing?" Rose asked, cracking another egg

Natasha's lips turned into a line before answering "There at the Red Room, they brainwashed all of us. Put in fake memories to ensure that all we remember is Red Room and nothing else. To make us loyal to their cause. When I turned rogue, I kept getting these flashbacks. I never knew if they were from my real memory of fake ones."

Natasha paused for a brief minute

"I stopped attending to them after a while. Whenever I'd get a flashback, I'd ignore it. But now, it just happens so randomly...I...-" she sighed "don't know what to trust and what not to"

Rose nodded then took a deep breath "I'm not sure this would work but I'm willing to give this a try"

"Thank you Rose"

"What are friends for?" Rose chuckled "But I want you to do some stuff"

"Like what?" Natasha asked as she took the bowl with peeled bananas Rose handed her

"Mash them and mix it with nut butter, honey and chia seeds"

"Really?" Nat raised her brow

"Not for that" Rose softly smiled "for that, I need you to tell me everything that you can remember"

Natasha gave Rose a perplexed look

Rose turned the stove off before taking out the final sunny-side up and putting it on the plate with others

"Mundane or magical, the brain is the same. And it is not as easy as you think." Rose paused biting her lip when her eyes went on the mix that Nat was making "Okay, think of this bowl. Now if I tell you to put pancake mix in the same bowl, what will you do?"

"Same bowl?"

"Same bowl" Rose nodded

"Logically, I'll put this in another bowl and then put the mix in this one"

"Your mind is just like that" Rose explained, opening the packet of bread "If they brainwashed you and planted falsies, then they didn't erase your true memories, they just locked it to the back of your head. and since the falsies were on the surface, you never reached to your true memories. But now if you want to access those true memories, you have to put the falsies away, so the real memories can come on top"

"...okay"

"And since you have your false memories, everything you'll tell me from what you can remember is going to be fake. So when I'll go through your head, I'll be able to separate the false ones from the real ones."

"what will you do with the false memories?"

"Memories cannot be erased, just pushed down. Be it real or fake. I cannot remove fake memories but I can push them to your deepest part of the brain and lock them there."

"What's the catch?"

"It's going to be painful. It's gonna result in heavy headaches, migraine, irritation, crappy behavior, and since it's you, homicidal urges " Rose shrugged "You don't have to do it right now, Nat. Take your time. Get comfortable with the idea. Sleep over it. Just let me know when you are ready so I can clear my schedule"

Natasha frowned at Rose "Why?"

Rose sighed, completely facing Natasha "You've spent more than half a century with these falsies, Tasha. I cannot replace them overnight. We need a couple of days. And there's this nice cabin I have in Upstate. We can do it there where no one would disturb us. So think about it and let me know whenever you feel comfortable so I can ask Pepper or Brittany clear my schedule"

Natasha bit her lip as she let the information process.

Did she trust Rose? Yes

Did she trust Rose with her life? Yes

Did she trust Rose with her mind? Probably

Did she trust Rose with her past? Probably Not

"You are thinking too hard, Natasha" Rose softly said, keeping a hand over Nat's and caressing the back of her hand with her thumb "It's your past. And if you want me to do it, I promise, I will not judge you at all. What's past is in the past. You cannot change that. What you can change are your present and future." Rose shrugged "besides, we all have done something we don't want to remember or regret doing. You are not special"

A small smile broke on Natasha's lips. This was why she chose to stay with the Avengers. She was not special, not among them. And it made her feel safe and...herself.

"HEY! Are you making food or growing it?!" came Tony's yell from the pool

"Let's go before they decide to get all this expensive wooden floor wet," Rose said with a fond smile, picking a large plate of sunny side-ups while Natasha carried the sandwiches

* * *

7 days. Natasha took 7 days to ponder over what Rose had told her. She was still a bit paranoid about her sketchy past but she trusted Rose. She had even gone to Clint to talk about it. Clint, God bless him, heard her completely, and then suggested that she should go for it.

She had told Rose that she was ready and Rose had just flashed her a comforting smile. Brittany(none of the five of them had ever met her; Tony knew her) had cleared Rose's calendar for a whole another week while Pepper vacationed with her family.

The next day, both the women left for the upstate cabin.

* * *

Rose pulled on the rough road just behind the cabin. They both carried their duffels to the cabin which Rose opened with the key

"A bit too transparent?"

Rose shrugged at the front side of the cabin which was entirely made of glass

"Dad's idea. Besides," she opened the door as Natasha entered first and Rose followed "JARVIS can always tint the glass"

"JARVIS is here too?" Natasha asked. She didn't know why she was even surprised. JARVIS was a very fundamental part of the Stark family and the Starks often treated the AI as a family member rather than a learning computer program

"I assure you, Agent Romanoff, I'm present at 82% of the total properties sir and miss own"

"How many do you both own?" Natasha raised a brow

Rose closed the door "Lost the count"

Rose kept the keys on a table nearby and picked her duffel "There's a guest room behind the stairs and another on the first floor. Mine and dad's rooms are on the first floor. Feel free, I guess"

That very night, during dinner, Natasha told Rose everything she remembered.

* * *

They started the next day.

After breakfast, they settled on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Okay" Rose breathed "Like I've repeated a hundred times before now, this may or may not result in what we exactly want. You still sure?"

Natasha looked at Rose and gave her curt nod

"Good" Rose swallowed "Pointers. Best would be if you were asleep. it should cause less discomfort. 2, we have to be physically connected. So don't ever let go of my hand. 3, don't strain. Just relax and let me do the work. the more stress you'll take, the harder will it be for me. 4, whatever happens, don't push me out. or think too hard. Because if something went south, I could end up trapped in your head for the rest of my life and it will not be good for either of us"

Natasha gulped "You sure this is a good idea?"

"We can still back out" Rose replied

Natasha took a deep breath, focusing on the fireplace. She was silent for quite a time before she looked at Rose and intertwined their hands

"Let's do it" Natasha nodded

Rose smiled comfortingly

"But promise me, Rosie, if you feel something going wrong, you'll get right out of there. I've lived so long with them, I can do it for more"

"Promise. And don't call me 'Rosie' " Rose nodded "You wanna take some time to sleep?"

"No. No, go ahead"

"It'll probably hurt more that way, Tasha"

"After everything I've been through, what's a little more pain?" Natasha asked, her smile strained

"Okay," Rose exhaled and grabbed Natasha's hand with both of her hands and closed her eyes, her pink lips starting a silent movement.

Natasha saw Rose's hands glow in a soft white color and suddenly shooting pain started in her head. She groaned mildly, trying not to worsen the situation for either of them. Before she knew anything, her world started spinning. She vaguely remembered putting her other hand on top of Rose's before the world blacked out for her

* * *

Rose had done legilimency in the past. She had used Imperious Curse in the past. But she had never entered someone's head this way, she had not.

The first step of learning mind magic was that though each mind had the same basic blueprint, there might be some modification done by the person, each to their own taste.

But Rose found herself in the pitch black.

"Вы должны сделать лучше"

Rose whipped around trying to locate the source but finding the sound rather ominous. Good thing she knew Russian.

"папа!"

"сделать ваше тело жестким!"

"это твоя судьба, Наталья"

At once the voices stopped and Rose looked around, noticing a small speck of white in black. She slowly made her way to the white. As soon as she neared it, the white flashed, making the young witch close her eyes with her arm. After a few seconds, Rose removed her hand to find herself in what looked like a miniature ballroom in an eerie mansion. a huge black piano sat on one side with pages of songs. Rose slowly made her way to the book and flipped the pages. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach were some of the symphonies.

Rose wanted to use magic badly but didn't. Using magic inside a mundane's mind would end up doing harm and no good.

Rose walked past that to the huge windows and looked outside. It was sunny and there was a nicely kept up lawn. That was when she noticed something in the window reflection. Quickly turning around, she saw a red door. She rushed to the door and tried to open it but the knob wouldn't budge.

"okay" Rose took a few steps back and slammed into the door with her right shoulder, ignoring the pain. It took her three tries before she finally managed to burst into the room.

It looked like a meeting room. the lighting was all red, which only made her flinch. What kind of people live with this much red in their lives?

"Bloody bastards" Rose muttered, moving further into the room. She looked around but found nothing. Which surprised her. memories are supposed to be found on the surface. Even for Natasha, it should have been somewhere in that ballroom or this room, but there was nothing.

The only other thing there was, was another door. So Rose followed.

This led her to what seemed like a large all-around floor to ceiling library.

"wow!" Rose whispered, looking at all the books that were stacked, their front cover first, rather than binding.

Making it to the nearest book, she picked it. the cover was something black and leathery but there was a red hourglass. Rose recognized the symbol as the one which was Natasha's symbol.

she opened the book and flipped the pages, reading the contents. Okay, she had no idea that memories were written down rather than stored in the forms of videos or something like that.

Quickly reading a couple of pages, she figured the memory piece she held in her hand was fake. Taking that in hand, she got out of the library.

Now that she knew where the surface memories were, she needed to find the locked ones. She had no idea how long it took her, but she finally found one another room in the whole mansion which was locked. It was on the lowermost level(5 floors below the ground floor!) and seemed like a storeroom. The only thing weird about it was that it was the only room in the whole corridor.

"Just hope this doesn't hurt" Rose sighed and slammed into the door with her other shoulder. This time it took her five tries. She was pretty sure if injuries did carry out, her shoulders were gonna bruise quite badly.

Entering the room, Rose's eyes widened. Books were piled on the floor in towers. How much had those SOBs brainwashed her?

Rose picked the topmost book closest to her, tucking the falsie under her arm, and flipped through it. She didn't understand the context of the memory but the names Ivan Petrovich and Matt Murdock appeared repeatedly. Taking it as a memory Natasha had not talked about, she took the book and kept the falsie next to the pile on the floor. The real memory book cover had a white star with three white stripes emerging from it on black leather that separated it from the real one. It kinda reminded rose of the Christmas Star. Rose walked out of the room, but not before managing to break the lock of the door.

She ran to the library upstairs and placed the real where the falsie had been.

She had no idea what was going on with Natasha but she was feeling drained. Having enough for the day, Rose closed her eyes, muttering another spell as the world around her started blackening

* * *

When Natasha came to, she was feeling like she had gone on a roller coaster while been heavily drunk. Nausea and tiredness, along with a developing migraine was bad enough.

Slightly groaning, Natasha stood, collecting her bearings when she noticed a mop of pink next to her.

Rose was out cold. If it wasn't for her constant pulse or breathing, Natasha would have been alarmed. When she looked down, she saw that their hands were still intertwined. A smile broke on Nat's lips but she didn't retract her hands. She didn't know if Rose was still in her head or not. She'd rather not take that risk.

Within 15 minutes, Rose's eyes fluttered open

"How was it?"

Rose jumped at the sudden voice, but then looked at Natasha "Could have been better" she replied, sitting straighter and then removed her hands and stretched

"So?"

"Those fuckers really have done a lot of damage to your memories." Rose replied, sounding edgy "took me a while," at that Rose glanced at the clock "which is about 5 hours to find the surface memories and the hidden ones. I just replaced one. From tomorrow, I'll pick up the pace. The first trip took its toll on us. We should both rest"

Natasha nodded and headed for her room, but Rose called for her

"Don't strain to remember stuff. Once it's done, it'll come to you naturally"

Natasha nodded and left

Rose took a deep breath and exhaled, looking at the afternoon-evening transition sun. the week was going to be long and hard.

* * *

Everything went smoothly for the next three days. So smoothly that third day onwards, they started doing it twice a day.

Rose replaced as many books as she could at once. More than 70% of the exchange was done. What was really tiring was that Rose had to read every single memory that was in the library. They might house falsies but they also had Natasha's current memories. Knowingly or not, Rose had no intention of locking any recent memory of Nat's.

The real memories were slowly seeping into Natasha's consciousness and surprisingly, for Rose, the assassin was taking it way better than she expected. She often suffered from migraines and nausea but nothing too severe. Rose even considered taking a day off, but Natasha was reluctant that they should finish it sooner than later.

Trouble started on the fifth day.

Rose had just dumped about fifteen falsies she had carried down to the basement in a separate pile. She sighed, stretching her back before heading to the real ones. She picked the book and flipped the pages when she found something that made her freeze.

She had just found out that Natasha had been married, in fact, to a Russian test pilot named Alexei Shostakov. And she was later told that he died. and nothing else.

She knew the memory was personal, and she shouldn't read it. Despite her budding curiosity, she closed the book, picked about 10 real memories randomly, and made her way out to the library.

That evening, after returning back to the real world, Rose sent Natasha to take rest while she herself made her way to the server room the cabin had. Side note, Starks cannot survive without tech.

She closed the door behind her and opened the Stark secure server before running a search for Alexei Shostakov. The web results were somewhat similar to Nat's memory. Further, he had participated in WWII on the Eastern Front. He flew during the Korean War where he was a war casualty. Posthumously he was decorated as a hero for the Soviet Union.

That was very precise for Rose. If there was something she knew about Russians, it was that they were sneaky bastards*, so she started hacking into KGB. and then at the peak moment, her conscious spoke up. She knew she shouldn't. It was Nat's personal life. And she had no right poking into other people's personal lives.

Rose took a deep breath, leaning back, stopping the hack. It was wrong. Nat had trusted her with her past and life. Her eyes darted to the photo on the desk of her and Tony.

"come on Rose, he raised you better than this" Rose muttered and stood up and left the room.

* * *

The next morning, Rose woke up early, got ready, and decided to make breakfast. To her surprise, Nat was already cooking for the two of them. Rose walked into the kitchen and sat on the stool. Natasha slid an omelet towards her and sat opposite to Rose.

"You were hacking into KGB"

Rose stopped. The hand with the fork froze mid-air while her mouth remained open. Her emerald green eyes nervously darted towards Natasha, who looked back at her with her olive eyes.

Rose gulped, keeping the fork back on the plate. Of course, Natasha would find out. She was a spy. She was _the Black Widow!_

"I'm gonna presume you already know why," Rose said

"Alexei Shostakov." Natasha replied "My husband". The word felt very foreign to her, especially when she said it out loud

"Yeah" Rose replied "I'm sorry"

"Why?"

Rose sighed "I poked around where I didn't belong. Besides, it was a personal matter for you. I shouldn't have gone sniffing around"

"You read the memory"

Rose shrunk a bit more at the statements rather than questions. She had told Natasha what it was like in her head and how she had to climb 5 floors up and down to replace the memories

"Just enough to know that you both were married and he died in the war later"

"Then why were you looking for him?"

Finally a question

"It seemed sketchy. Don't tell me you didn't find it so. With all the respect in the world, Alexei was an excellent pilot. He served in WWII. I can't believe that he died over a comparatively small war like the Korean War. Something didn't sit right with me"

"So you decided to investigate"

"Yeah." Rose sighed "I should have talked to you about this first before trying to be Sherlock Holmes on your private life. Sorry, Nat" Rose hung her head, fiddling with her fingers "I was trying to find something that could have given you a closure. I just didn't want you to feel disappointed if I didn't find something" her voice was meeker

A few moments later two arms were wrapped around her and pulled her close. Rose stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the hug. Natasha was not a hugger. At most physical contact from her was general hand-holding or a pat. Nothing even close to a full-body hug.

"It's okay"

"Really?" Rose looked up

Natasha flashed Rose a tentative smile "Yeah." and then pulled "How about you finish your breakfast so we can finish this" she tapped her temple

"Sure!" Rose dug into her food but then paused again "I'll never do it again without discussion, ever. Witch's honor"

Natasha chuckled "Maybe once it's all over, we can do some investigation together"

Rose froze again and gaped at Natasha

"Right"

* * *

Two days later, all memories were switched. Rose closed the basement room which now contained all the falsies and turned the knob in. Once closed, she took out an enchanted knife and carved an ancient rune for a lock on the door. Now the door would remain locked without a lock.

That day and the other, Natasha took complete rest. She had been a little fuzzy but it was just a side effect of memories moving. Her headache was back full force and Rose had been trying not to do anything that would piss Nat further. They might be close but she was still Black Widow and she could still kill her even with a small paperclip.

The next day, they hacked into KGB. And that was when they both noticed something odd

"I thought you said Red Room was destroyed," Rose said, eyes scanning every single line of the confidential record

"I destroyed the only base it had," Natasha said, looking over Rose's shoulder at the file

"I don't think so, Nat. It seems like the Red Room is still active. Now they go by 2R"

Natasha didn't say anything

"SHIELD would like to know about it" she muttered

"Are you gonna tell them that I hacked into KGB?" Rose looked at Natasha

"My sources are always anonymous, Rosie" Natasha smirked

"Don't call me Rosie" Rose mumbled, "You sure about it, though?"

"Yeah" Natasha nodded "Now what can you find on Alexei"

"Right. Husband" Rose muttered, typing in codes

Natasha frowned at the word. Husband. She remembered KGB arranging her marriage with Alexei. She remembered spending time with him. She remembered falling for him. She remembered him falling for her. And she remembered when she was told that he died in war. It was after that, she had decided to go full-on femme fatale. But that was the early 1950s. It was 2013 now. 63 years had passed. Since Alexei 'died' and she became the Black Widow.

"Uh...Nat"

Natasha was broken out of her thoughts as she looked back on the screen "What did you find?"

"Alexei didn't die in the Korean war"

Natasha's eyes narrowed and she frowned, leaning closer

"Here," she moved the mouse pointed on a section of the report "They faked his death. Told you he died but they actually trained him in combat in secret. He was also given another version of the serum they gave you. He went by the codename Red Guardian"

"They gave him the serum?"

"Yeah" Rose nodded

"Does that mean..." Natasha looked at Rose "he could be alive?"

Rose exhaled loudly. This was why she wanted to do it in private. So she wouldn't get Nat's hopes high.

"Hold on," Rose said, going further down the report. She knew that unlike her who was looking for specific information, Natasha was reading the whole report

"Found it" she whispered when she realized what she had found "He was killed by Colonel Ling when he tried infiltrating a secured Chinese base to get some artifact/secret weapon for KGB. It happened in 1978." she looked up at the assassin "I'm sorry, Tasha"

Natasha nodded, exhaling, and stood straighter. Rose went back to the screen, backing out and erasing whatever digital footprint she might have accidentally left and put some complex codes so they couldn't trace her back.

But the time she turned, she was alone in the room. Rose took a deep breath. What she was afraid of most had happened.

* * *

That night Rose found Natasha sitting on the grass outside the cabin. It was around 9 and she was looking at the starry sky. Without a word, Rose went inside the cabin.

Natasha was trying to let the memories seep by. After every time Rose was done replacing, she'd feel overwhelmed with all the flood of memories. and it hurt. The only good thing that came out was that now she knew who she was. And she wasn't sure if she should be glad she does or pissed at herself. They faked her entire life. She still couldn't believe it.

Natasha heard someone, Rose, behind her who quickly took a seat next to her, without saying anything. Natasha felt a nudge and looked at the young CEO only to find a glass of some colorless liquid extended towards her. Natasha raised her brow only to notice the bottle of vodka she had gotten for Rose as an apology gift.

She took the glass from Rose

"cheers," Rose said, clinking both the glasses "to our fucked up pasts"

Natasha chuckled to herself, taking a sip. It was somewhere during her first drink only that she leaned her head on Rose shoulder. The witch just wrapped an arm around Natasha and rested her own head on top of Nat's, which only made the assassin smile.

Maybe finding out her origins was not the only good thing that came out of all of this

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *no offense to any Russians.
> 
> Right now, the story is at a point where Steve Rogers/Rose Stark(Fem Harry) ship has the possibility of either being the best of friends or becoming more than that(romantically involved). I'd like to ask which route is preferred by the readers. 
> 
> I'm open to both and I'd go with the majority. So, do lemme know your preference
> 
> I did this poll on fanfiction.net and I got a bit of a satisfactory response. I thought of having the same poll here as well


	9. Babysitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avengers are getting out of hand, which is starting to get on Fury's nerves. So he pulls the big gun. Once again, Rose is not amused

It was a nice Wednesday. Completely normal for a group of superheroes. Everyone was acting normal. Not a hair out of its place.

Bruce and Tony were in their labs. Steve was in the communal with Thor, watching some movie that Tony had pulled up for them to catch up on. Natasha and Clint sparring in the gym. Rose in the office. And just like that, everything was normal.

And then the alarm blared out. Within 2 minutes, everyone, except Rose, was on the communal, confused and irritated (in case of Clint and Tony)

"JARVIS, cut the alarm" Tony called and the alarm muted "What's wrong?"

"Director Fury has asked all of you to assemble at the HQ. It's an urgent matter, sir"

* * *

The six of them made their way to the HQ and directly to the conference room. Once they entered, they were greeted by Fury and a young woman, maybe early 20s. She had honey-brown curly hair, beautiful brown eyes, thin lips, and was dressed in casual. Despite everything, she was beautiful.

"Mia?"

Everyone looked at Tony, who was looking at the girl in shock 

"Hello Mr. Stark" the girl, Mia, smiled back. Her accent was thick British.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, half chuckling as he settled down like others

"Ms. Granger, here, has decided to accept the position as the new Avengers Handler" Fury explained

"Handler?" Natasha repeated, skeptical

"Yes, Agent Romanoff" Fury gave a nod

Just then the door of the conference room was knocked and Rose entered

"You are late, Ms. Stark" Fury noted

Rose just rolled her eyes and went to sit next to Tony when she spotted the addition to the room

"Mia?" Rose raised her brow "Whatcha doing here, babe?"

That earned her questioning glances from everyone-bar Tony and Fury

Fury gave her a look and Mia shrugged

"Oh my!" Rose's eyes widened "You!" she looked at Fury with narrowed eyes "You took my it seriously! It was a joke!"

Fury just raised his brow

"You have the worst sense of humor in the galaxy" Rose frowned and slumped down her seat

"As I was going to say, from now on Ms. Granger here would be handling you all. Including if and when you decide to get arrested for a bar fight or start threatening NASA scientists while trying to buy a comet. Contrast to popular beliefs, the Avengers are not the center of my universe"

All the Avengers, except Rose, flushed at the comment.

Fury turned and gave Mia a look "Good luck, Granger" with that he walked out

The moment he was out, Mia looked at Rose

"You asked him?!"

"Me?" Rose raised her brows in surprise "Are you crazy! No! I just joked that having a sane person who has dealt in both the worlds would be the best to handle the Avengers. I didn't know he would contact you!"

"I'm sorry" Clint fake coughed, grabbing both their attention "You both know each other?"

Rose sighed "Everyone, Hermione Granger. Mia, the Avengers. That's Natasha, Clint, Steve, Thor, Bruce, and you already know dad"

"Hey Bookworm" Tony smirked causing Mia to chuckle

"Mia and I have been best friends since we were 11" Rose added

"Wait what?" Steve asked

"He called your best friend?" Clint frowned "and I thought I was your best friend" he grumbled

"Am I being replaced, Rosie?" Mia smiled teasingly, taking a seat

"Oh hell no! No one can replace you" Rose nervously chuckled

Hermione chuckled and pulled out some thick files "Okay, so I went through whatever files Director Fury had on you all. And I was quite...surprised, for the lack of a better word," she muttered the last part "to find a lot of incomplete paperwork regarding your missions and in general."

The whole team shuffled. Ever since Phil's death, Natasha and Clint had lagged in their paperwork. And others thoroughly avoided it with their own set of excuses. Rose had the best and the most believable excuses since she actually had a real-life-money-earning job. Tony and Bruce had their labs and inventions. Thor often pretended to not know how to write a 'Midgardian' report and Steve found excuses with his change in era.

"As your new handler, I will not be overlooking paperwork. And since none of you have any important thing to get to, I'd suggest you finish the paperwork right now" Hermione said, distributing the files

"About that" Rose cleared her throat, trying to get up "I have this very important meeting to a-"

"Pepper said your schedule for today and next two days is clear. Sit down" Mia deadpanned and Rose obliged, which surprised everyone. And flashed a warning that Hermione Granger was not someone to be fiddled with.

* * *

It had been thirty minutes since they all started writing their reports. Everyone was waiting for someone to snap and pounce at Hermione, but the young girl seemed to intimidate everyone in the room. Besides, if someone, who is not Tony, Pepper or Rhodey, can order Rose around, they were not to be taken lightly in any way.

Rose groaned, stretching her arms over her head. And surprisingly, her pen was still writing the report

In a quick movement, Mia grabbed the pen and glared at Rose

"Lift the charm"

Rose pouted

"But M-"

"Rose, lift the charm." Hermione sternly said, "You cannot and will not spell pens to write your report."

"Then how will I do my reports?" Rose almost whined, which was a first for others

"Like others. With your hand"

Rose scoffed, resuming to write the report with her hand.

Natasha and Clint smirked, sharing a look. Maybe it wasn't as bad

* * *

Another hour later, Rose was getting restless. She had never done this much paperwork in her life and her hand hurt. And why did she even have this much paperwork? She didn't go on missions. She didn't work for SHIELD. It was unfair!

The worst part, she knew as long as Hermione was next to her, she couldn't perform any magic that could get her out of the room. Unlike others, they grew up together. She could always see through her illusions

"So, Mia" Rose started, knowing that she attracted everyone's attention in the room. She perispherically noticed Tony smirking, while doing his report. Oh how well he knew her

"How's Ronald?" she asked

Mia raised a brow at her over the file she was going through "why?"

"Just asking" Rose shrugged

Mia looked at Rose with full attention "Shouldn't you know? He's your brother, after all"

Rose shrugged "Well, he's your fiance. You spend more time with him than I do" Rose gave her an innocent smile

Mia smiled "Ron's just fine. Nice Try. Get back to work"

Rose pouted, getting back to work

Tony chuckled at her lousy attempt and she smacked him on the leg and narrowed her eyes at Clint, who was attempting to laugh but stopped midway and went back to his own report.

* * *

3 hours. It took freakin' three hours to finish all the report work. For everyone. Especially when Tony slipped some of his paperwork to Rose, who had the least amount.

Hermione collected all the files and piled them up

"Hey kid" Tony started with a smile "Where are you staying?"

"SHIELD issued me an apartment"

Rose snorted "Right. You are moving to the tower"

Hermione's face tightened a little "Rosie, I do-"

"Hey" Rose smiled "If you think I'm gonna let my best friend stay anywhere but the Avengers Towers, you think wrong" she grinned "I have some super cool things to show you"

Hermione looked conflicted for a second before nodding

"I'll come tomorrow to help you move" Rose offered

"I'll text the address"

"Cool," Rose grinned. On their way out, she and Hermione fist-bumped

"so Fury made your best friend our handler and you are okay with it?" Clint asked, catching up to Rose

"Why wouldn't I be?" Rose asked "She's my best friend"

Clint scowled "She'd be biased"

Tony laughed next to her "Trust me, Robin Hood, Hermione the last person on the planet who'd be biased in her decisions"

"You sure?" Clint raised his brow

"Yup"

"Rose" Thor spoke up "Is your friend Lady Hermione like you?"

"Yeah. She's magical and she's a witch, yup" Rose smiled, facing the Norse God

"How close are you both?" Natasha asked. Tony might know this Granger girl, but she didn't. Right now, she didn't trust their new handler. Granger was Rose's best friend, but she had seen enough scenarios where the people that are trusted the most are the ones stabbing in the back

"We met when we were 11. Went to the same school. Shared the same dorm for 6 years. Had sleepover when kids and girls' night outs when teen. So I'd say very close" Rose shrugged "and you know, you guys should relax about Hermione. Girl's all cool and collected and smart. I don't mind admitting it, but she can be smarter than me. So, don't overthink this"

"Well I personally won't if we prank her" Clint grinned at her

At once Rose stopped and Thor almost collided into her

"Sorry" he muttered but she waved him off, her entire attention at Clint

"You prank a single hair on Mia's head and I promise you, Barton, you'll never hit bullseye ever in your life again"

* * *

Hermione moved to the tower within two days. She got the floor just below Rose, despite protesting that she just needed a room. Tony had told her to customize the way she liked. Others welcomed her with no issues, which told Hermione that something was not right. Two of them were professional assassins. Hell one of them the Black Widow. You have to living under Mount Everest to not know who she is.

Their job was not to trust anyone new. but neither Clint nor Natasha had acted like they didn't trust her. Hell, everyone on the team seemed to trust her and like her. They included her in their discussions, jokes, daily activities, and even their cooking roster, which she shared with Rose on Saturdays. Somewhere she knew that the Starks were to blame for all this humble hospitality.

A vibration from her jeans pocket brought her back. she blinked away the computer screen she was working on and took out her phone, where the caller ID said Ron

"Hey" she tiredly smiled, rubbing her eyes slightly

" _Hey you. Are you okay? you sound tired, hon"_

"I'm good" Hermione smiled "I'm kind of tired. Dealing with a group of superheroes is not easy"

Ron chuckled " _How bad? On a scale from 1 to Rose"_

Hermione hummed, leaning back on her chair "Rose is Rose."

 _"She's the worst_ "

"Hmm-mm" Hermione smiled "Then there's Thor. He's a 5."

" _He's the Norse god, right? Loki's brother?"_

"Yes. The archer, Clint, I'll give him...9"

 _"Ouch_ "

Mia scoffed "Bruce's a 3. Tony...you know Tony"

Ron snorted " _Just a few below Rose"_

"Yeah." Mia smiled "Steve...he's a 5 too. Must be something about not from around. Him and Thor"

 _"There's another woman, right?_ "

"Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow"

" _...you are kidding me"_

Hermione laughed "I wish, Ron. She's all real. I guess she's a lovely...10"

" _she's third-worst? Really?"_

"Hmm-mm" Hermione smiled when she heard a knock"Someone's at the door. I'll call you later?"

" _Okay. I love you. Take care, babe"_

"Love you too"

Ron hung up and went to answer the door where Rose stood, a huge grin plastered on her face. Hermione narrowed her eyes at her best friend. She rarely knocked. She just entered the room as she owned it. Technically she did.

"If you are wondering why I didn't burst in, you were talking to brother dear. Thought I should give you love birds some privacy"

"How much did you hear?" Hermione folded her arms

"Just from the part where you were telling Ronikkins that Black Widow is not a legend but real deal" Rose replied "Anyway, I need your help. Come with me"

Rose led Hermione with her to the communal where a couple of books laid open

"What do you need help with?" Hermione sat down on the couch, Rose next to her

"Here" Rose pulled a book and pointed at a symbol "It's a protection rune. but I'm not able to activate it"

"Where do you want to put it?" Hermione asked, tracing the symbol with her finger

"...My suit" Rose said

"You have a suit?!" Hermione looked at Rose, surprised

"Uh...yeah" Rose nervously nodded "I made myself a spin-off of Iron Man armor"

"It wasn't mentioned in your file" Hermione raised a single brow

"I didn't tell SHIELD about it. Though, others do know"

"Who all?"

Rose blinked "Avengers. Pepper. Rhodey" Rose bit her bottom lip "You"

Hermione exhaled loudly

"Look," Rose quickly added "If this works, I'm gonna add it to Dad's suit, Rhodey's too. and the accessories we develop for Avengers. It's a win-win for the whole team"

Rose reached and pointed at the symbol "I carved it on an Aurelian Steel strip just to see if I could make it work. I successfully carved it but it's not working"

"Should I even ask where you got that much AS?"

"No. You shouldn't" Rose replied "Hey! but it wasn't illegal! I paid for the whole amount of AS"

Hermione closed her eyes for a second before opening them and looking at the book. She swore mentally. Sometimes Rose acted like a non-sensical teenager as opposed to the cool, calm, and calculating CEO the whole world knew.

"whatcha girls into?!"

Then there's Clint

Hermione exhaled and looked up at the archer who was dressed in sporty outfit

"Going somewhere?" Hermione asked

"Actually we all are heading for evening jog" Clint answered

Only then the witches noticed Steve, Natasha, and Thor, all dressed for a jog

"Where's Bruce and Dad?" Rose asked

"Lab" Steve answered, "Do they ever work out?"

"you really think Hulk needs workout?" Mia raised a brow, making a few of them chuckle

"Hulk doesn't. Bruce, maybe" Steve replied

"Well, dad isn't much into the whole workout regime unless he wants to" Rose shrugged

"you girls wanna join?" Natasha asked, pocketing a small plastic water bottle in her track pants

Rose replied in a beat

"We are in the middle of something, actually"

Clint scrunched his brows and checked the book in Hermione's hands. He heard light footsteps heading for him and soon a book from the table was picked

"What language is it?" Steve asked, looking over Natasha's shoulder

"That is Old Norse" Thor informed, pointing at the third book on the table before looking at the witches "Isn't the ancient Norse extinct on Midgard?"

"It is" Hermione nodded "Kind of"

Rose looked at Natasha was holding a book "Aren't you fluent in Latin, Nat?"

"Latin, yes. But this seems different. Somewhere it's similar to Latin, somewhere it isn't"

"Archaic Latin, actually. Older, tougher, purer" Rose added "and of course, extinct. But Latin, indeed"

"what about this one?" Clint pointed at Hermione's book

"Galwegian Gaelic" Hermione answered

"Extinct?" Clint asked

"Yeah" Hermione nodded

"should've guessed" Clint muttered

"Why do you girls have books in extinct languages?" Steve frowned

"It is not extinct for us" Rose shrugged "we can perfectly read and write in all these Languages and also a couple more"

"If Midgardians use Old Norse then why is it still extinct?" Thor frowned

"Because it is us magicals who use these languages, not the regular people, Thor" Hermione explained "these languages are considered pure. Purer the language-"

"the stronger it is" Rose finished

"Wow," Nat muttered, more like deadpanned "you practice all ancient languages?"

"Mostly what's taught to us in school" Rose shrugged "But like it is, the older, the purer, the stronger"

"Hmm" Clint nodded as Natasha closed the book "you nerds are gonna be busy for a while then"

Rose snorted but didn't comment. Both of them were called things worse than 'nerds'.

"Yeah" Hermione smiled "thanks for the offer though"

"It's no problem" Steve smiled "You are part of the team"

"We'll be back before the dark descends," Thor said, the boom in his voice returning

"Sure. It's Bruce's turn to make dinner anyway" Rose noted

Natasha kept the book back on the table and walked away, the three men following as they entered the elevator

"So this symbol..."

Hermione looked at Rose, as she started explaining everything she had done

* * *

If anyone ever suspected the closeness between Rose and Hermione, it vanished within her one week of stay. Hermione wasn't the only one who mothered Rose, but she was one of the only few to whom Rose listened to willingly.

The weird part, Hermione always knew where Rose was. Even if they all lived in the same tower, it was hard to keep track of Rose. For all you know, you could find her for breakfast but by lunch, she'd be in Malibu or LA or DC. Within the next couple of hours, she might be in a whole another country. Even Natasha hardly managed to keep up with the young CEO.

And it was proved when one fine day, Rhodey stormed into the tower, looking like someone killed the puppy he never had. His dark eyes darted around, eyeing everyone who was collected on the communal for late afternoon lunch, before settling on Tony

"Where's Rose?" he asked

"I don't know, platypus. Pizza?" Tony extended the box

"You don't where Rose is?" Rhodey raised his brow for which Tony shrugged

"Have you tried her office?" Tony asked

"Yes. I'm coming from there"

"Maybe she's in Malibu" Natasha offered "she had mentioned something about checking over the new mansion and branch office"

"You sure, Romanoff?"

"Hi Mr. Rhodes"

Rhodey turned around and smiled at the newcomer

"Hermione? What are you doing here, kiddo?"

"Does she know everyone?" Clint whispered to Natasha and Steve, who only shrugged back

"I'm the new Avengers handler" Hermione shrugged. Rhodey's eyes widened and then he looked at Tony "Is she serious?"

"Afraid so" Tony scoffed

"So Fury made her your handler..."

"because of Tony's NASA stunt," Bruce piped in

"and we all getting arrested" Tony narrowed his eyes. He was _one of many_ reasons why Fury made Mia the handler. He was not _the_ reason.

"Right" Rhodey muttered. Rose had called him the very night to discuss the seriousness of the situation. He had whole-heartedly joined his pseudo-niece for scolding Tony. He had also had a hearty laugh with Rose in private when she had explained the whole situation to him.

"Mia" Rhodey looked at the young which "do you know where Rose is?"

"Oh yes" Hermione took a seat on her chair "She's in Sofia, Bulgaria"

"Bulgaria?" Clint repeated. When had Rose left for Bulgaria?

Hermione nodded "She was invited to give a lecture at the Global Tech Summit this year" she looked at Tony "she didn't tell you?"

"She might have mentioned something about that a few days ago" Tony meekly smiled "I forgot"

"What's wrong?" Steve asked Rhodey

"Don't worry about it, I'll talk to her straight" Rhodey replied before looking at Hermione "Pepper?"

"she's in DC."

"Right" Rhodey muttered. He bent and picked a warm box of pizza

"Give me a call when Rose's back?" he looked at Hermione

"Will do" Hermione smiled back

Rhodey left after that

"How do you not know where your own daughter is Stark?" Thor frowned at Tony

"Hey, wait a moment" Tony sat straighter "I knew she was at a Tech Summit. I just..."

"Forgot?" Natasha smirked

Tony frowned at her "I'm a genius, Romanoff. I have to remember a lot of things. Naturally, I forgot a few"

"So to remember that you need to update your latest suit, you forgot where Rose was?" Bruce raised his brow

Tony frowned then crossed his arms and pouted

"Guys" Hermione interrupted "Pizza's getting cold. You can argue later"

If this was the first time her witnessing this, she'd been mad at the parenting of Tony Stark. But after years of hanging around him, she could say that she knew him pretty well. She knew that not only was Tony aware of where Rose actually was at the current moment but he most probably also knew why Rhodey was mad at Rose. He was just too good of an actor to admit being clueless about his daughter's whereabouts.

No matter what happened, no matter who came and left, the ultimate truth was that Rose and Tony were the only ones for each other. And being her father, his first instinct would always be protecting his daughter.

Hermione shook her head and looked at the movie playing just when she felt a gaze on her. Slightly turning, she found Tony's smiled directed for her, which she returned with a nod. He knew that she also knew.

* * *

When Kingsley had told her that she was offered a place as the handler to Avengers, she was surprised. She knew who Avengers were, Rose was particularly chatty about that. She knew who was who. Rose and Tony were the major reason she agreed to it. She'd been seeing them since she was 11. Both of them were technically extended family to her. So she agreed. She had dealt with the worst of the magical world. How bad could some mundane, non-magical humans be?

She met Fury, read the contract, made a few changes, and then signed it. Fury had described her job. She knew she was to make sure that none of the seven got in any trouble in their day to day life. Their missions were to first go through her. She was to amalgamate their reports. In general, she was to keep them in check.

Answer to the previously asked question: Scratch bad. They were worse

What she had not known was that she had agreed for babysitting 7 children trapped in bodies of adults with superpowers (and yes that included Bruce and Steve) who did not understand that she was not their babysitter! She had looked after Rose for years because of her suicidal tendencies, but this was worse! Even if Fury paid her ridiculous amount of zeroes to keep the Avengers out of trouble.

A beeping of holoscreen from the nearby table made her sigh and hold her head while she answered it

" _Mia? Hey, it's Bruce"_

"Yes, Dr. Banner?"

" _I'm not disturbing you, am I?"_

Hermione sighed, eyeing the pile of paperwork on the desk of her weekly report to Fury with wariness. The guy trusted this group with saving the world but not on their own.

"Not at all. Is everything alright?"

" _Uh...Clint just keeps in entering the lab through the vents and messing with the chemicals. I tried telling him off but he just keeps on doing it because he knows I won't Hulk out in the lab. Can you just..._ "

"I'm on my way" she ended the call and rubbed her temples

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"Do we have something for a headache?"

"There is a bottle of Advil in the third cabinet from right in the kitchen"

"Just one?" Mia looked at the camera

"I'm afraid so. Miss, Agent Barton, and Agent Romanoff have a tendency to consume more than a few pills during bad instances of migraine"

"Please order some more bottles."

"It has been done"

"thank you, JARVIS"

"You are welcome, Ms. Granger"

The first step, kitchen. The second step, stopping Clint.

Hermione grunted pulling her hair in a lazy ponytail. If she were to grow old early and sprout out wrinkles and grey hair, everyone knew who to blame. She swore under her breath. This was so not what she signed up for.

* * *


	10. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve suggests a camping trip. Everyone agrees. Rose ends up using it as an oppuritunity to show her party skills. An unexpected person joins her

It all started with a stupid plan which, Tony regrets to admit, was suggested by his very own daughter.

It started earlier the previous day when they all had gathered for lunch. Pepper and Rose with them. Thor had received a message from Heimdal about some issues in one of the realms and how Odin expected Thor to solve the problem. To say everyone was upset would be an understatement.

Since the regrouping, Thor had been the group's integral part and a giant teddy bear, from who hugs could be expected whenever you are feeling low, irrespective of who the person was. He gave out free and adorable hugs when Steve, Nat, and Clint returned from any mission, when Rose and/or Pepper had a tough day at work, or when Mia was crushed under all the paperwork of handling the Avengers/ tired of dealing with them, or when Tony failed inventing something or Bruce was feeling edgy. None of them, maybe except Steve, missed swearing at Odin, Mia included. Thor just shot them a soft smile before vanishing through the rainbow bridge.

Now during lunch, Bruce had brought up the topic of Calming Draught. Rose wasn't stellar in potions, an average maybe, but she could easily brew simple potions. Mia was good and also joined the conversation. One thing led to another and the conversation skipped to where Rose and Mia started telling them that they had a hiking vacation with Rose's brother and Mia's fiance just before her final year of schooling.

Tony and Pepper might be the only two people who knew the truth behind the whole 'vacation in the wilderness', but it gave Steve an idea of going to a group hiking trip. And that day the whole team found out that saying 'No' to Steve when he pulls his requesting puppy dog look in nearly impossible.

Mia, apparently having enough of that experience, was the only one who managed to deny Steve from joining him. She turned to be immune to his requesting looks. Also because since she was new, she didn't share the same level of bonding she shared with Rose and Tony with others, hence she got leeway and offered to look after Arrow.

Rose tried too, but nope, she was not given the same leeway.

Clint got excited along the way and he had rubbed off on all of them. By the end of two days, even Rose seemed a little excited

* * *

"I hate it" Rose grumbled, slapping her arm and killing a mosquito

"Thought you had experience with the whole hiking?" Nat smirked at her, earning a glare from the witch

"It was in the UK, so nice weather and no mosquitoes. And, I hate mosquitoes"

"Hey, Rosie" Clint jogged to her, brushing past the bushes and low branches, "think you can work a little voodoo to keep these little bloodsuckers away?"

Rose stopped to glare at Clint "Don't call me Rosie. And no, I can't" she raised her hands "Vibranium cuffs" she frowned

When they had started making plans for their hike, Bruce joked on how weird would it be if they did like normal people and not enhanced. Steve took it seriously and had them all keep their weapons at home.

All. Their. Weapons.

Even Tony's homing bracelets for the suit. He had personally packed an extra supply of Calming Draught for Bruce, though.

Rose was glad that Steve didn't seem to remember that she was born with her abilities and didn't need any particular medium. But her happiness was short-lived when the same thought struck Natasha and she demanded a way to temporarily block Rose's magic. She was so fluent with her magic that the only indication she had used a spell was either a quick inhuman green glow of her eyes or a quick glow in around her hands.

And sadly, Natasha was aware that Rose had been working on a modified version of Vibranium cuffs. She had used a prototype and it seemed to work just fine, absorbing her magic like a sponge absorbed water. A big insatiable sponge. Initially, she had started working on them to help with her magic flares, so she doesn't have to spend hours in the gym working them out. But the current cuffs needed to be improved for that one.

So Rose was a now wearing pair of four-inch-thick vibranium cuff bracelets on both hands, which already put her off.

"Guys?" Tony's voice came up. The group stopped and waited for the genius to catch up with them. Tony, eyes stuck on the map, collided with Steve, before stumbling back as Steve caught his arm, steadying him

"Thanks Capsicle" Tony grumbled and then looked around "I'm afraid to announce the fact that we might be...lost"

Rose very audibly groaned, slumping down on a fallen log and leaning back until her head hit a tree "Who gave dad the map?"

"He said he can read maps" Steve looked at her, slightly frowning

"He can read maps as well as he can read Latin" Natasha frowned, striding to Tony and snatching the map from him, ignoring his "Hey!"

Natasha's green eyes quickly went through the map, trying to find their exact location and head to the nearest camping spot. Clint with a tired sigh, settled next to Rose, who rested her head on his shoulder

"I'm tired, man" Clint complained

"Me too" Rose grumbled. She licked her lips and frowned "Water? who had water?"

"sorry" Bruce nervously looked at her "I finished it"

Rose groaned again and buried her face into Clint's shoulder "We are lost. We ran out of water. I'm fucking tired! And these fucking mosquitoes won't leave me alone!"

she loudly slapped her calf. a big mosquito fell down on the ground, dead, leaving a bright red mark on her pale skin.

She looked up from where her face was buried and found everyone looking at her

"Oh come on!" she cried, snuggling into Clint again, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started rubbing her bicep

"Anything, Widow?" Tony approached her, as he spoke softly

"Is she okay?" Bruce approached the quartet closer

"Rose's getting irritated. and trust me, you don't want an irritated Rose on the trek. She becomes impossible and whiny" Tony said, though he was worried.

Rose rarely swore. and if she was swearing, it meant she was getting extremely pissed. For once, he knew that when Rose was done with this whole hiking/camping crap, she was gonna make Steve's life so hard...

God save Captain America.

He also knew that the vibranium cuffs wouldn't hold long. Sure she had designed it the way that she could put them on but would need a second person to remove them, doesn't mean that she couldn't find a loophole.

"We are lost for sure" Natasha muttered

"Didn't we pass that tree on our way here?"

"Yeah, but I think we passed this one here too?"

"They are a mile apart!"

"Stark, stay away from map"

The discussion of four was broken by a loud screech in the air, which was very close to them. a rustling of bushes got them all one edge but after a few minutes nothing came out. Only a loud squawk.

Everyone, except Rose, looked up on a tree branch, where a Ferruginous Hawk was perched, smirking at them

"Rouge?" Tony tried and was answered as the bird flew down and perched itself on Rose's shoulder, nibbling on her ear and glaring at Clint

"Hey" Rose raised her head and looked at her pet hawk "found the place?"

Rouge bobbed his head once and pointed at the complete opposite direction with his wing

"You had Rouge follow us?" Clint asked. Rose looked at him, Rouge glared at him

"I find birds to be excellent navigators" Rose stood up and dusted her capri pants "I had Rouge and Hedwig head to the camping site and find us in case we got lost. Good thing I did, huh?"

Clint got up and looked at others. Tony shrugged, not very surprised, while others looked from curious, relieved to disappointed in Steve's case

"Are you gonna stay in dense forest or head to the clearing?"

They all looked at Rose, who was already of ahead of them, Rouge smirking at them

Tony followed the two first, followed by Bruce and Natasha

"I hate that goddamn bird"

* * *

They made it to the clearing in about 20 minutes and Rose breathed in relief. Rouge flew to the campfire spot and started arranging the firewood that was already there.

"did Rouge get them?" Bruce approached her

"Rouge and Hedwig" she smiled "I don't really have a lot of patience" and turned to face Steve "sorry about this"

"well, it's always good to have a backup plan" Steve shrugged with an easy smile

"Great" Natasha stepped forward "Let's set the te-"

a loud sound startled them all as another small stack of firewood was dropped next to the campfire spot. this time it wasn't Rouge, but a beautiful snowy owl with flecks of black on her plumage.

"This must be Hedwig" Bruce carefully stepped forward. They all had already screwed their chance with one of the resident birds. He was not planning on doing it with the other one.

"Yeah" Rose smiled as Hedwig perched on her extended forearm.

"Hed, friends and family. Everyone, Hedwig"

To their surprise, Hedwig did a little bow and hooted

"Told you Hedwig's polite" Tony clipped back

"Now, tents" Natasha shrugged off her bags

"Rosie?"

"Hmm?" Rose looked at Tony

"Tell me you brought your tent"

Rose scoffed. As if.

* * *

"Where can I get it?" Clint whipped and looked at Rose "How much is it?"

"around 400 galleons" she replied, going through her bag

"Galions?" Clint frowned

Rose stopped and looked at him "Galleons. Wizarding money. that would be roughly...6000 USD"

"a bit costly, isn't it?" Bruce asked, sitting on Tony's bed. So far only he and the Starks were sharing tents. Bruce was with Clint because Natasha flat out refused to share one with him without any reason. And Steve's tent was big enough to accommodate only one of them

Rose looked at him and raised her brow. Sure she wouldn't buy the cheapest magical tent but this one was for a reasonable price. It came with two very comfortable beds, a dining set, a sitting area, a recliner that Tony had claimed for himself, a small fireplace, and a couple of skylights. From outside, it looked just like any other tent, but then again this was spelled with Undetectable Expansion Charm

"dude, costly doesn't even touch it" Clint complained, settling on the couch and propping his feet on the table "$6,000 for a tent? it's insane"

"Wizards are extremely rich, just so you know" she supplied "While I have no qualms with sleeping on the forest ground, I have no intentions of listening to my old man complain about how uncomfortable ground is and how his back is aching all the time and he got cramps"

"Hey!" Tony jumped up from his spot on the recliner "Don't put it all on me! You don't like sleeping on the forest floor either. and I do get backaches" he scoffed

"Must be the old age" Clint chuckled loudly

"I'm not old. 43 is not old" Tony frowned

"Okay" Rose stood straighter, hands on her hips, glaring at Clint "One, only I'm allowed to make jokes on dad's old age. Two, get your feet off my coffee table or I'm gonna hex you where it'll hurt the most the moment I'll get these cuffs off"

Clint quickly sobered up, putting his feet on the carpet. This caused others to laugh at his expense while he frowned

"No wonder Nat's stare doesn't have the desired effect on you, Tony" Bruce chuckled

Steve just laughed and shook his head. it were moments like these when he loved his team. Only if Thor was here.

* * *

Steve looked around the campfire. Clint was opposite to him, trying to roast marshmallows without burning them. Natasha was skewering marshmallows. Tony and Bruce, while in a heated conversation, were holding a skewer each. Rose was next to him with Rouge on her lap and Hedwig on her shoulder. She was ripping off small pieces of bacon they had packed and fed them to the birds. Her gaze flicked on to him for a second before she turned to him with a smile

"Wanna try?" she asked, extending the bacon pieces

"'M not sure, Rose" Steve said "Rouge doesn't like me, anyway"

"He won't do anything as long I'm here." she assured "But if it makes it better, start with Hedwig. She won't bite"

"sure?" Steve asked, hesitantly picking a bacon piece

"Promise" Rose smile, tucking a rose gold strand behind her ear. Rose extended her arm and Hedwig perched on her forearm, looking at Steve. More like eyeing his bacon piece

Steve softly raised his palm with bacon in the middle. Hedwig bent a little, picking the piece of bacon before putting it completely inside her mouth. She softly chirped at him. Noticing that he didn't hold any more bacon, she flew back to her older perch on Rose's shoulder

"How do you tame them?" Steve couldn't help but ask

Rose chuckled, her green sparkling more in the light of the fire "that's the secret, Steve. I don't"

Steve looked at in confusion "I don't get it?"

"Just because they are birds doesn't mean they don't deserve to be treated like anything but our equal. I've had Hedwig for about 12 years now. Rouge for 4." she looked at him as she cleaned her hands on her sides off any bacon.

Rouge squawked and flew off to a nearby tree, perching on a branch and curling to sleep. Hedwig remained there and started preening Rose's hair, making her chuckled

"Hedwig is like my best friend," she said "she's been with me through every thick and thin. I love her. You treat them with respect, that they give you their life-long loyalty" Rose's hand went to pet Hedwig, who stopped preening Rose's hair under the touch and started enjoying it, eyes closed too. Steve chuckled at the sight

"Wanna try?"

Rose gently picked Hedwig and placed her on top of her knees

"Just be gentle" she reminded

Steve hesitantly raised his hand and softly ran it over Hedwig's head, as she started enjoying his touch. To his and Rose's surprise, she bounced and settled on Steve's knee, chirping at him to continue his petting. Steve complied. A click of the camera made him look up only to find everyone looking at him and Rose, keeping back her phone

"You two are cute!" Tony grinned "Whatcha say, Cap? Feel a need to have a snowy owl?"

"Or a bald eagle" Natasha smirked

"I'm not sure I'm the most appropriate person to raise a bird" Steve shrugged

"As if an 11-year-old is" Rose snorted

"Still ain't sure. I don't know"

* * *

Steve was grinning. The dinner he cooked had got him praises from everyone. And now, done with dinner, they all were just huddled around the campfire, laughing and talking about random stuff until Clint loudly clapped his hand, grabbing everyone's attention

Clint grinned. "We are missing out on a very important camping activity. Horror Camp Stories"

"Right" Natasha scoffed "'Cause you can scare any of us"

"You haven't even heard of my stories" Clint whined, sitting down between Rose and Steve

"I go with Natashalie on this one, Katniss" Tony butted in "I flew a freaking nuke into a space portal. Nothing scares me anymore"

Rose scoffed but tried to cover it with coughing "Sorry. Go ahead"

"Yeah Clint" Steve said "I don't think a horror story's gonna scare after everything we've been through"

"What if I managed to freak you guys?" Clint challenged

"Well if any of you managed to freak me out" Rose began "I'll build everyone a new and improved weapons and add my special touches to them"

"And by special touches, you mean..." Natasha trailed off

Rose smiled innocently "Magical touches. Runes, spells" Rose shrugged "You don't have to be magical for that. and magic comes handy a lot"

"Deal" Clint grinned "I was thinking some arrows that blast into millions in the air and then into mini bombs"

"You mean like Jericho missile?" Tony asked

"Yes!" Clint snapped his fingers at Tony

Tony spared a look at Rose, who shrugged "Scare me first. But if you failed to do so, you'd be doing my chores one month, each"

Tony knew his daughter. she had slain a 60 ft basilisk and fought a dragon in her teen years. Horror Stories would be the last to freak her out. Looked like Clint and Natasha were booked for extra chores

* * *

Rose was pleased, but only a little. Clint's story was definitely spooky if a rookie heard it. Natasha followed Clint telling her own Horror Camp Story, something about a Russian urban legend.

By the end of the stories, she knew a seed of fear had settled in Tony, Clint and Nat's head for sure, even if they easily managed to hide it. Natasha might be a Russian spy and assassin but she had been quite easy to scare. It made her wonder what would happen if she narrated one of her tales in the form of a story. Even Steve looked a little uncomfortable, nervously shifting and rubbing his back. Bruce looked calm as always. it took a minute or two more to read his brain.

Unlike others, Bruce's brain was hardest to read, mostly because of the Other Guy. But she had managed it. Not that she'd let them know. Natasha thought that the cuffs bound her magic. Nope. They bound her magic if she used her hands as a medium. She didn't need her hands or voice to read minds.

Rose checked her phone. It was 10:12 PM. With mutual discussion, they all dispersed to their tents to grab sleep.

* * *

Steve woke up to someone shaking the hell outta him. He turned and looked around to see Clint there

"What happened?" he asked, voice groggy, as he got up

"I don't know. But someth-" Clint's whisper was cut off by a loud sound of a nearby bush shaking fiercely "that"

"It's just a bush, Barton," Steve said

"Actually,..."

When Steve made it out of his tent, he was surprised, yes. Their campfire was completely off as if someone doused it with water, but there was no wetness. A breeze of wind came out of nowhere hitting them. The temperature had relatively lowered.

"There better be a good reason, Widow" Tony grumbled as he and Natasha came out of their tent. Tony was rubbing his eyes.

"I think something is nearby" Clint whispered

"Maybe it's just some wild animal" Tony shrugged and looked around "why are we missing out on Rosie and Brucie?"

"That's the problem. We don't know"

At that sentence, the whole group looked at the third tent which was collapsed. No one was inside. Steve walked to the collapsed tent and checked it. It seemed fine and not broken in. But there were big gashes on one side of the tent, possibly the reason it collapsed.

"They were in there, right?" Steve asked, looking at the green tent. What he didn't understand was why Rose sharing a tent with Bruce when she got her own tent with a very comfortable bed on?

"Yeah. I checked before going to bed" Nat nodded

Suddenly a tree branch closeby snapped and hit the forest ground with the thud, startling them all

"Okay."Clint muttered, suddenly moving closer to the other three "That is not an animal and I'm too young to die"

"no one is going to die, Clint" Steve sighed, but there an edge to his voice

the silence of the night was suddenly broken by a long loud wolf howl, again startling them

"Just wolves. Just wolves" Natasha muttered to herself, her hand twitching for a weapon, but finding nothing. Steve noticed it. Clint's hand was twitching for a weapon too.

Bushes behind them rattled so fast as if someone ran across them. Natasha raised her torch in the direction, but nothing. This repeated on the other side. Nat raised her torch, but the torch offed. She hit it, tried working it, but it didn't light up. She looked at others

"It's not working"

Steve took a step back, and his back collided with someone. He quickly turned and noticed Tony. His jaw clenching and a silent gulp

Another wolf howl very similar to the first one. Clint yelped made all of them look at him then at the direction he was pointing. Steve froze. It was just for a second, but he would bet his shield that something was there with red glowing eyes. Just for a second before the silhouette vanished.

"Please tell me it was not a Yee Naaldlooshii" Nat gulped. Tony looked at her in shock because Black Widow scared, that was rarer than Vibranium.

"It was a story. A legend" Steve said

some bushes rattled again, in a different direction

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Cap, but there's always a hint of truth in every legend" Tony said, his voice getting a octave higher

And suddenly it went all silent. Nothing. Te four had just started to loosen their guard just a little, when

Hoot! hoot!

The four would never admit, even if it came on their lives, but they did not scream like little girls at the loud hoot. In fact Clint had literally clung on Steve was Tony was balancing himself around Natasha, who also looked worried. Steve wiped the sweat off his forehead as Natasha raised the torch, which was miraculously working again, at the source, which happened to be a common owl. Glaring at them for disturbing its sleep

"Uh" Clint nervously laughed "Sorry buddy"

the owl gave out another indignant hoot and flew away.

The tension dissipated for a second was brought back when something moved right behind them, rattling the bushes. But this time, it was accompanied by a low growl which resonated quite loudly in the quiet forest.

"Guys" Tony audibly gulped, looking at a direction.

There it was. The silhouette of the thing. This time too it happened to be a glimpse, only for a few more seconds. The red eyes were so clear against the black contrast. The growl was still surrounding them, which stopped only to be followed by another wolf howl. But this time, it was nearer. So near that they could all hear the strain in the howl. Nat raised the torch, but it gave out again

"Don't wanna be that person, but this is like the first 10 minutes of a cliche horror movie. Or Supernatural Episode" Tony added.

"Now we are gonna be eaten by a rabid wolf. oh my god! I'm going to die" Clint whined

"If we survive this, I'm never trusting you when you'll suggest camping again, Steve" Natasha visibly and audibly gulped. How stupid could she be?! Why didn't she even carry a single knife or a small pistol?!

"If we survive this, I'll never ask you not to bring weapons with you no matter the place" Steve wiped the sweat off his forehead again

"If we survive this, I'm never going camping. Ever!!" Tony added

Few more bushes rattled, but this time they were closer and louder. They all were worried and panicked. Two of their heavy hitters were missing. And here was the monstrous thing that seemed to be playing with them, working them out before it enjoyed them. One of the loudly gulped, but no one paid mind

When the growl got closer, the four turned to the source at once. They could all see a huge towering silhouette. This time it was very clear despite the darkness around. It was huge, about 7.5 ft to somewhat 8 ft. Looked heavy and muscular. But the most striking attraction was it's two glowing red eyes. And the glow somewhat was able to highlight it's large snout and snarling mouth. It was exactly how Clint had described them. Exactly ditto spot on.

The same snarl came from somewhere to their left and another such thing came to view

"Now there's two of them" Clint cried out "It's Yee Naaldlooshii! And it's gonna eat us! I swear I'll never make fun of Indians again!"

"Hey Cap," Nat nervously started "Wanna see if you hold down the fort?"

Steve's jaw clenched "Pass"

"Any last statements or confessions?" Tony asked

"I steal clothes from Rose's wardrobe all the time" Nat muttered, but enough for them to hear. It got looks from all three, "She has an amazing taste of clothes"

"Well," Tony started, his voice slightly shaking as the figure in front of them threatened to take another step "I was the one who accidentally messed up Mia and Bruce's tea. And I never went 12 on 12 with Maxim models. I went 5 on 12"

"Okay" Clint took a steady breath "I ate Rose, Bruce and Nat's brownies but told them that I disposed of them off because they expired"

Nat's head turned to Clint with a very intense glare, which did not affect his already terrified form.

Now the figure completely stepped out of the shadow. It was huge, dark grey and snarling at them with anger

Steve gulped. If this was how he was going to die, he'd die confessing that he liked Rose more than as a friend. At least then he didn't had to face Tony's wrath that way. The figures stepped closer

"Cap?" Clint slightly prodded, who was technically clinging on him "You got nothing to confess?"

"I..." suddenly he felt uncomfortable, his throat dried up and no words formed.

The Yee Naaldlooshiies crouched down and looked ready to pounce. They took a step back, gained a little momentum, and pounced. Steve turned away, closing his eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never did.

Instead, there was a burst of loud laughter.

The four turned and saw ahead, which made a chill run down their spine. There was Rose, rolling on the grass, literally laughing her ass off.

The bushes rattled mildly again, but this time, Bruce stepped out, dressed in casual pajamas, holding a video camera.

"and that's a wrap" Bruce lowered the camera and grinned them all

"Oh my!" Rose wheezed out as Bruce helped her "Oh!" she coughed and cleared her throat "The look on your faces. Merlin!" she started laughing again but stopped at the dumbfounded looks of others

"what just happened?" Steve muttered

"What just happened was that you were pranked the shit of you all by me and Rose" Bruce grinned as the two made their way to the others

"This was a prank?" Nat's voice was slow, very clear and lacked emotion

"Now, before any of you try to kill me or Bruce," Rose raised her arms in placating manner "we had no clue you four would get this terrified. Seriously, stating out your last confessions?"

Clint shook his head and stepped forward "Did you two just prank us?"

"Yes"

"Yup"

"Seriously, for a group of superheroes, you are very easy to scare" Rose grinned "Too easy"

"Banner" Clint's growl was quite clear "Delete that footage right now"

It only made the other three realize that Bruce indeed had a video camera in his hand

"No" Bruce stuffed the camera deeper in his pocket "This footage stays"

"I swear to god, Banner, if you did not delete that footage rig-"

"Did you just confess to finishing my, Bruce and Nat's brownies?"

It went so silent in a matter of seconds that the cliche chirping of crickets and other insects could be heard

Clint audibly gulped. He had just then realized that he had indeed confessed of that. And it was a serious violation of rule book. You eat your section and leave others' alone. if the three-way glare he got were anything to go by, the three were not pleased by it. and soon he'd be getting retaliation that was for sure.

"So you ate my brownies and you," Bruce looked at Tony "messed my tea?

Though he appeared normal, there was an edge to Bruce's voice which had edged others

"you won't hulk out on me for that, will you buddy?" Clint nervously chuckled "It's just brownies"

"You broke a very important rule, Barton" Rose frowned too

"Okay, how about this? I buy all three of you double frosted chocolate cake" Clint offered

"Deal" Rose muttered, Bruce nodded

"You better" Nat added

"Well, there goes my monthly salary" Clint muttered

Rose turned to Bruce "do I need to get the draught?"

"I'm good" Bruce nodded

"Wait" Clint spoke up "What about the...but...yee...thing...dooshi" Clint stuttered

"Yee Naaldlooshii?" Rose asked "Well, it was just an illusion"

"The cuffs don't work?" Natasha asked

"These cuffs aren't strong enough to bind all my magic. these are prototypes. I create illusions with my imagination, not with my hands." Rose shrugged "I really need to update these ones for the effect you desire"

"But it was a good prank" Bruce nodded and then looked at Tony "You didn't tell me Rose was this good with pranks?"

Tony seemed to snap out at that and looked at Rose and Bruce. his expression turning quickly to anger

"WERE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A FUCKING HEART ATTACK!"

Everyone looked at Tony who was actually looking pissed. Rose just wrapped him in a tight hug, which he returned

"I was imagining worse things when I saw that tent" he muttered

"why were you bunking with Bruce?" Nat asked

"Clint started whining about bugs and all. Bruce offered me to bunk with him" Rose shrugged and pulled from the hug and looked at Tony "Sorry not sorry"

Tony shook his head and smiled "Despite the terrorizing, the prank was good"

Rose grinned "Thanks"

"Yeah" Clint nodded, gulping "a bit scary"

They all knew he was the shit scared, just covering up

Rose's eyes landed on Steve who looked he was still frozen.

"Let's get back to sleep, please" Natasha sighed "I'm starting a headache. Nice and scary prank but not cool, by the way. We'll discuss this further in the morning"

"Just so you know," Bruce spoke up "Rosie and I got some good blackmail material now"

"You are cruel" Clint pouted at Bruce before vanishing

With a collective decision, they all retired to their tents. Rose and Bruce reset their tent

"you go ahead. I'll be right back"

Bruce nodded.

* * *

Steve couldn't believe it. He was not worried that he got played by Rose and Bruce. Ever since he found out that she could make illusions and had a streak for pranking, he knew they would be one of her victims in the near future.

The thing that nerved him was that he was so close to hurling out his feelings for his teammate in her and her father's presence. He was pretty sure Rose didn't feel the same. But what if he had let it out that he had feelings for Rose only to be rejected by her? What if Tony kicked him out of the tower for what he felt for his daughter? What if others stopped talking to him because of it?

He had finally found a place where he wasn't a weirdo or wasn't gaped at like he was the eighth wonder of the world. The Tower was home to him and the Avengers, family. Was he really willing to gamble it all for affection from the girl he had deep feelings for?

* * *

Rose entered Steve's tent to find him sitting on the forest ground on top of his sleeping bag. She went and sat next to him. When she noticed a very minute reaction, she looped an arm around his and looked at him

"Wanna talk?" she asked

Steve looked at her and sighed

"I'm okay, Rose"

"no, you are not" Rose replied "Others showed their displeasure. they did not hold back. you were quiet"

Steve shrugged

"Steve?"

Steve looked at her and shook his head "It was a good prank"

"But..."

"Just some old memories" Steve improvised "Bucky and I used to prank too" he chuckled to himself and shook his head "Nevermind. Just old stuff"

"Okay" Rose nodded "Just so you know, if you ever need to talk or anything, I'm here"

"What? you are my therapist now?" Steve chuckled

"Well, I can be" rose smiled

"I broke my last one"

"I like to take up on a challenge"

Steve smiled, which Rose returned. and in the next moment, she got up and gave him a hug. her small arms wrapped around his neck. Instinctively his arms wrapped around her petite waist

"We are a team now, Steve. you are not alone" she whispered "You have me. You have all of us"

If Steve's hold tightened around Rose's waist, neither commented on it. Rose let go of her grip and so did Steve

"Sleep well. we got a long discussion tomorrow" she smiled and walked out

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, people. Good, bad, suggestions, everything (except degrading comments) is more than welcome. Guys, I need to prove to my folks that I'm a good writer and I need reviews for that. It matters to me a lot.


	11. Be the reason someone smiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose finds out something Clint didn't want her too. 
> 
> Also,
> 
> "You cannot take parts out of a dishwasher. In case you don't know, you are a BILLIONAIRE!"  
> \- Pepper Potts to Tony Stark

If there was one thing Brittany Hughes learned, it was to never trust paparazzi and media. Three years ago when she was hired as receptionist/PA by Rose Stark, she was elated. Who in their right mind wouldn't be? You get to work with Rose Stark aka Rose Potter!

She knew that she was one of the 15 women who had been shortlisted and her chance had been pretty slim, since unlike her, a lot of them had professional experience under their belt while many just wanted the 'Stark' tag on their CV.

If anyone was to ask Brittany about it, the only advantage she thought she had over others was magic. She was the only first-gen with a slight hope that Rose Stark would maybe prefer a magical PA. And Brittany liked to believe that her magic was one of the reasons, on top of her CV, she got that highly paying and reputed job.

Now she may have been happy, some of her friends and family definitely weren't ( she could have to have smelled jealousy a couple of miles away). Some warned her that all Starks were the same and were too hard into partying, booze and sex to focus on their job, and Brittany would be left with everything to manage herself. Some said that it would become her duty to clean after the young CEO's messes and act as a fully-functional babysitter. Some warned her that her close proximity to Rose Stark may get her in the work of drugs and alcoholism.

Brittany would love to flip at them and let them know that they were super wrong. Rose was an incredible boss. Her only quirk was that she was regular to office without any stupid excuses. Rose handled a lot of her work and only left managerial work with Brittany. Of all the offices SI owned, Brittany managed the ones in USA, while Pepper Potts (who shared half of her job) and Rose managed all the international branches. She was quite surprised to find that Rose was not, in fact, an alcoholic or drug addict as media had portrayed her as. If one thing she was addicted to, it was work. She was a workaholic who also knew how to have a social life. She partied hard but cleaned her messes on her own. She had some incredible one-nighters but they would end with the night.

And in the three years, she and Rose had gotten quite close as friends. Under whatever image media had printed of Rose, Brittany found her boss to be extremely adorable, childish at times but encouraging, kind, intelligent, lovable, and sassy.

Brittany would never change this job for anything else, even if it was the President who offered her job (Well, she might consider it, though)

* * *

Brittany rolled her whiskey brown eyes the moment Tom delivered the weekly post on her desk. Only by looking at the cardboard box, Brittany knew what it had. Fan-mails and Fanarts from all across the planet.

Since Rose was one of the two popular public figures who also happened to be on the team, she was treated like the face and liaison of Avengers, even if she never signed for it. So people all over the world would mail them their stuff and Rose was kind enough to go through them all personally. How she managed it was out of Brittany's league.

Muttering thanks to Tom, Brittany picked the cardboard box and headed for the office. She knocked and entered. She never had to worry about catching Rose off-guard. Rose didn't date so there were even fewer chances of walking in on something she would rather not.

But scenarios like the one she walked into were rare

Rose froze for a second, her face slightly hovering over the Chinese takeout box, chopsticks in her hand, and noddles halfway into her mouth from the takeout box, some sauce smudged at the side of her lips.

Seeing that it was only her PA, Rose sat straighter, slurping on the chowmein and chewed.

Brittany slightly cleared the table of blueprints and specs and kept the cardboard box there

Rose extended the takeout box towards her, for which she shook her head but she did take out a dumpling from the other plate

"this week's fan mail," Brittany said

Rose kept the takeout box back on the table and checked the box, still chewing. She removed the tape and as soon as she did the flaps jumped open by the abundance of letters that were stuffed haphazardly inside

"Thanks" Rose nodded

Brittany nodded back and turned to leave

"Hey, Brittany"

Brittany stopped and looked at her boss over her shoulder

"Yeah?"

"I heard that your niece's graduating in a couple of days. Are you not going back to Florida to attend it?"

Brittany completely turned and faced her boss. How come she knew that? Even she had gotten the news previous evening that her older sister's daughter was graduating from high school as valedictorian.

" I'm not. It's a lot of workloads, mam. I've gotta schedule and there are expo and the latest pro-"

"Take the week or something off" Rose cut her

Brittany blinked and narrowed her eyes slightly

"Are you sure?"

Rose chuckled

"Yeah yeah. I know stuff like these matters in the family. Go ahead. enjoy some time with family and I'll manage for a week"

Brittany blinked again

"What's the hesitation for? Go right ahead, Ms. Hughes. Enjoy. And convey my congratulations to your niece"

Brittany nodded "Thank you, Ms. Stark" Brittany paused for a single second "Mam, you've got some sauce..." she pointed at the cheek area near the lips where the red sauce was very visible

Rose's face flushed a little and she grinned "Why, thank you, Ms. Hughes"

with that, she turned and walked out, a soft smile on her face. Brittany would not really be that surprised if her niece found a heap of Graduation Gifts from SI. Rose had a habit of going overboard with gifts but what mattered was that she knew and she made sure her employees from other regions aren't cut off from their families. She absolutely loved her job here.

* * *

"JARVIS, protocol 142A"

"Activated protocol 142A"

Protocol 142A: No one is allowed inside the room but Brittany Hughes, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Tony Stark, and Rose Stark.

Rose wiped her mouth with the tissue and opened the cardboard box.

"Okay, let's see what they got" Rose muttered, going through letters. She separated them all to the people they were addressed to. Weirdest thing she found was the people who wrote these fan mails

Steve's letters would be addressed to Captain America, which was written by people of almost all the generations. The old generation had seen/heard of him in WWII. The middle generation grew up listening to his stories. And the newest generation which saw the entire alien invasion and Capt. America kicking their ass. So generally he got a lot of fan mails

Tony's letters were almost as much as Steve, but his mainly comprised of young kids and teens, who were fascinated by his tech and suit of armor, or fangirls. Or in some cases, women claiming to have had her dad's offspring after a one-night stand and demanding stuff. Well, those made a whole separate pile that was to be either ignored and rather used as a firewood replacement or sent to SI's legal time for suing them for making such false allegations. Her father might have been a man-whore in the past but he never had gotten any woman pregnant, she was confident of that.

Thor's were the fourth highest, but still, a lot since he proved the existence of aliens. A good amount of them came from the Norse Pantheon worshippers from Scandinavia and across the world.

The other three got comparatively less. and they were okay with it. Hulk was looked upon by many as cool but only a few knew the man under the green anger-management issues.

Black Widow and Hawkeye, who got famous after the press conference the Avengers had done following the alien Invasion, got quite an amount of letters too. At first, Rose was worried that one of them might have a tracker or something to pin the location of the spies, so she had developed a system of checks for it which was placed at the entrance of her office. Any magical or technical tracker would be disabled the moments it would enter the room and stay dormant.

The highest amount of fan mails came for Rose, written by both mundanes and magicals across the globe. She had come to love the spotlight, but going through hundreds of fan mails was tiring no matter what

* * *

Rose entered the communal that evening, the cardboard box tucked under her arm. And as soon as Tony and Steve noticed it, they visibly slumped

"Get that thing out of here, Rosie" Tony ordered

"I second it" Steve nodded

Rose raised a brow at that. Both men hardly agreed on something and it was rare to see it

"No" Rose shrugged, keeping it on the table and opening it

"Hey Clint, get your ass down here!" she called, looking up at the vents. Soon a hatch on the other side of the floor opened and Clint jumped down from the vents

"What's up?"

"Ceiling" she muttered, which got chuckles from others in the room but a frown from Clint

"JARVIS, can you call Nat and Mia here?"

After a beat of silence

"Agent Romanoff and Ms. Granger are on their way"

Rose nodded and waited until the to women were up

Natasha eyed the box with wariness. She was a spy, not a celebrity. As if Hermione wasn't hard enough on her for paperwork, she also had to do fan mails. Nat went and sat between Clint and Bruce

"Okay," Rose muttered, opening the box and taking out stacks of letters and keeping it in front of the people they were addressed to.

"Here's dad's, Steve's...uhhh Nat's...birdbrain...and Bruce"

"What about Point Break?" Tony asked

"I'll keep his letters in his room for him to answer when he returns"

"Wow, you do get a lot of these, don't you?" Nat looked at Steve's stack

Steve shrugged "Saving the world does come with a price" and then he looked at Rose "Do I really have to?"

"If you want to keep up the image" Mia chirped "PR is important, Steve. Everyone knows who you are. Humor them a little"

"Easy for you to say" Steve replied

Mia laughed "I got fan mails too, Steve. I know how much you exactly hate them" she jumped off the kitchen stool

"Hey Mia" Rose called "I could use some help"

"that's cheating!" Clint exclaimed

"I get as many fan mails as dad and Steve's combined. I'm entitled to some help" she replied and looked at her BFF

Mia shrugged and headed for the elevator

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Rose turned and left with the box

* * *

Clint was in the shooting range, testing out the modified reverse bow Tony had developed for him. It was lighter, could be folded into a palm-sized contraption, hence easy to carry and very durable. Though that was not exactly what he wanted it. He really wished he could have gotten the ones with Rose's magical touch, but he couldn't scare her. She, with Bruce though, did scare the daylights out of him and others. So not only did he lose his chance to get super cool tech, he was stuck doing Rose's chores for a whole month, which started next month.

Just then he heard the doors of the target room slide open and footsteps enter. He had just fired the last arrow when he noticed some purple-pink and turned to look at her

"Not bad" she was smirking at the target board where he had hit the bullseye with each arrow

"Thanks, Rosie"

Rose's head snapped towards him with a frown. Instead of her usual response, she just sighed

"You are not gonna listen to me no matter how many times I tell you to not call me Rosie, are you?"

Clint shrugged, a smile tugging on his lips as he kept the reverse bow back on the wall spot and faced her. Rose gave him a look and extended a white envelope.

"Another fanmail?" he asked, taking it. the mail was addressed to Rose

"Read it" she prodded

So he pulled out the folded letter from the already opened envelope and started reading it. it was like any other fan mail he had come across. Nothing special. Except for the names at the bottom, which suddenly made him paler.

He looked at her, fear in his eyes as she hopped and settled on top of the counter, looking at him in expectation

"It was smart of them to not mention the last name. Or where they are from. No return address. Nothing" Rose shrugged with a simple smile "They are chips off the old block, I see"

Clint's hold on the paper tightened

"Nat knows, I presume"

Clint rubbed his temples "She does"

Rose hummed and nodded, swinging her legs "My lips are sealed shut"

Clint knew she meant it but not entirely. As they all had come to know, if there was Rose knew, Tony did too. and vice-versa. Apparently the father-daughter shared everything and keep no secrets. Though when and where they had their talking sessions was something no one knew

So if Rose knew his biggest secret, it was safe to assume that Tony did too.

"How did you figure it out?" he asked her, leaning against the counter

"Well, this isn't the first mail I got which didn't mention the sender's last name. Justin Hammer's nephew once sent me a fanmail but didn't mention his last name. Apparently his family would hate to find out that he has a teenage crush on me"

They both chuckled.

"Anyway. I usually send some small Avengers merch to these people. And they are easy to track. But this one was hard. So I ran the name on the national interface. there are so many Coopers in the USA, I had no frickin' clue. Anyway, I narrowed it when I added Lila's name to the search bar. And I hit the target." Rose replied

"Are you gonna tell anyone?" he asked, worried a little

She looked at him "I admit that I can be pretty crazy, but I'm not that crazy. Everyone deserves a few secrets, Clint" she smiled and took the letter "I'm not telling anyone who already doesn't know"

"what are you gonna do with the letter?" he asked

"you mean to ask if I'm gonna destroy it?"

Clint nervously shrugged

Rose chuckled "Regardless of who sent them, I never destroy any fan mail. This one will just be extra protected" she smiled "Look, everything aside, don't be mad at them. They are kids. Kids do unexpected stuff"

"Experience that much?" Clint chuckled

"I will neither admit nor deny that. Though dad does a lot of unexpected stuff and I try really hard not to be mad at him and fail miserably"

This made Clint laugh

She smiled, jumping off "though would you mind if I put this drawing on the fridge at the communal? Your daughter is quite an artist"

"Others won't find out?"

"I will not let them find it out" She smiled and turned the drawing where Lila's name was written in black crayon "How old are they?"

"Cooper's 8 and Lila's 5" he replied, a fond smile on his face

"And you wife..? you do have a wife right?"

"Laura" Clint nodded

"she seems pretty" Rose smiled

Clint raised a brow at her "Should I even ask how you got a hold of Laura's photo?"

"I have my ways" she replied with a smirk and shrug "so, now that I'm into the whole secret-family secret, am I invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners?"

Clint shook his head fondly and laughed lightly "What will your father say?"

"I can tell him that I had a business meet and come with you"

"What if I happen to be busy with an assignment of my own?"

"Then I'll hack into SHIELD servers and give that case to someone else" Rose shrugged again "Everyone deserves to be with their family on holidays. Even the invincible Hawkeye"

Clint's grin widened and he ruffled her pink hair, which only made her scowl

"Leave my hair alone!"

"I'll sleep over it" Clint said and started walking out

"You better get me a response. Or I will just crash the dinners. Barton! Are you even listening?!"

But Clint was out of the room by then. He chuckled to himself. Though he would rather not Rose to learn his secret, at least she wasn't nagging him about trusting the team with secrets or hiding stuff from them or roasting him about his family. It was a nice change, one that Clint appreciated. Now he really needed to talk to Laura about it

* * *

Rose looked at the pot with the onion sauce that was boiling on simmer. Mia had already boiled and mashed the potatoes and the sausages were ready to too. Mia had just placed the shepherd's pie into the over just as everyone filtered in for dinner

Rose turned and looked around everyone ad the rolled her eyes

"JARVIS, do me a favor and tell dad to come up for dinner," she said

"Right away, Miss"

As others took seats, Tony had still not arrived

"I'll get him" Mia volunteered and headed for the elevator. She appeared after 5 minutes with Tony in tow. They all took seat and Mia and Rose served them all dinner. They were in the middle of dinner, discussing their days when Clint's phone buzzed out

"No tech on dinner table, Merida" Tony butted

"It's just a text" Clint deadpanned, his eyes scanning the text, widening a little, paling a little more, before he looked up and his eyes landed on Rose, who was eating her sausage when she felt his eyes on her

She looked at him and jutted her chin asking what had happened.

Clint just shook his head and went back to dinner.

* * *

After dinner, once everyone retired to their rooms( Rose made sure Tony went to his bedroom and not down to the lab), Rose took upon the dishwashing duty. Usually, the job was done by the dishwasher but the poor dishwasher had been subjected to a lot of organ transplants after Tony needed some mechanisms, and Thor had accidentally damaged the thing further before he left. Hence it was decided by the majority(to be read as Rose, Mia and Pepper's collective decision) that the dishwasher will not be restored ("Because you cannot take parts out of a dishwasher. In case you don't know, you are a BILLIONAIRE!"- Pepper Potts to Tony Stark) and whosoever had the dinner duty would also do dishes.

Rose had put Mia busy with the fan mails and developing the vibranium cuffs which needed extra detailing, mostly the work belonged in Mia's forte.

Rose smiled to herself knowingly when she felt a presence behind her, but heard nothing. Damn spies.

"You promised to keep it a secret"

the voice was low but clearly audible in absence of everyone else

"I did"

she noticed Clint perispherically move to next to her

"Why?"

Rose shrugged "They are your...you know. And by extension, they are the same to me"

"This isn't a joke, Rose"

She noticed how he didn't call her Rosie

"I'm not laughing" she replied and looked at him "I understand how severe this is, Clint"

"do you?" he frowned, which made her sigh

"You are not the only one with a secret" she replied, while he shot her a perplexed look

she sighed again and turned to give him full attention

"I'm the only one her who understand the importance of this secret" she looked at him "I understand the best" and she went back to dishwashing

It took Clint a few seconds but finally, realization dawned on him and his features softened "Boy or girl?"

She chuckled "His name is Edward, but he likes being called Teddy"

"How old is he?"

"5 and a half" she smiled fondly

"Does Tony..."

"Dad knows" she scoffed "Really?"

Clint shrugged "Where is he?"

"He lives with his grandma in rural London. I visit him as often as time permits" she looked at him, wiped her hands on a towel, and smiled a bit sadly "Believe me, Clint, I know what it's like when I miss holidays with him. He hates that I live so far, that he can't live me and dad. and I hate to see him sad."

"Does he know why you can't?"

"He's just 5" she chuckled "He knows half-truths. I can't explain to him more even if I wanted to. He won't understand"

"Lila's like that" he chuckled and shared a look

"Kids" the sighed together before chuckling

"But seriously? it's too much, Rose" Clint exasperatedly complained "All the gifts and merch you sent back to m-"

"I love to spoil my son, Clint. And I'd love to spoil my niece and nephew. That's what they are to me, right?" she smirked

Clint laughed softly, ruffling her gradient hair "Of course, Sabrina. They could use another aunt"

Rose scoffed, swatting his hand before giving him a look "so, I've been giving this a thought. I don't know where...your secret is. And I don't how secure that place is. But the house..my secret lives in is not only too big, but it's also completely protected"

"From what?"

"Everything. Assassins, spies, magicals, aliens, everything. So you know..." she shrugged

"you sure about this?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked, Whistler"

When Clint raised a brow, she groaned "Don't tell me you haven't watched Blade: Trinity"

"Oh I have" Clint grinned, "I thought it was out of your generation"

Rose raised a brow "I was 14 when it was released. I saw the movie" she shook her head slightly "So?"

"I need to think"

Rose nodded, biting her lower lip

"though I still have one doubt" Clint mused "How the hell did all that package show up at the doorstep at once? How many delivery guys did you hire? Because it took her about 4 hours just to move it all in and open them"

"Two" Rose grinned, jutting her chin towards the wall behind Clint. Confused, Clint turned around and his eyes widened. There on the wall-mounted bird perch were Rouge, Hedwig, and Arrow

"B-But how?"

Rose's grin widened "spells and magic" she chuckled "though Rouge said he liked Cooper and Lila and preferred the kids over you"

Clint frowned and left, muttering something about stupid flying rats and their choosiness, which only made Rose laugh

* * *


	12. In sickness and in health

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose falls sick and the following things commence:   
> ->Mia becomes the overprotective mom  
> ->Tony's 'dad' persona wakes up  
> ->Bruce is comforting  
> ->Clint and Steve sleep with Rose

Rose groaned as the car came to halt.

"Rosie?"

Rose groaned again when someone shook her

"Five minutes" she curled into herself

"We are at the tower"

She slowly opened her eyes and blinked them fast at the exposure to bright light

"I like the car" she curled further around her comfortable leather seat

"Don't make me carry you all the way to your room"

"I'm not a baby, Hap"

"Then head inside. You can't sleep inside the car"

Rose got up, blinked the sleep away from her eyes while giving Happy the best frown and pout for disturbing her sleep

"Go on. Get inside. I'll get your luggage" Happy chided

Happy opened the car door and Rose got out. She stumbled a first few steps because half-sleepiness and high heels are a combination for disaster.

"Rose?"

" 'M fine" she slightly slurred in her sleepy state and started heading for tower. JARVIS, god bless his protocols, opened the door for her. She walked into the lift which JARVIS itself proceeded to take to her floor

"J, kitchen, buddy. 'M thirsty" she said, leaning against the cool metal and rubbing her hands ever so gently over her face. She bent down and removed her 5-inch block heeled suede sandals and looped the pair around her fingers

"Right away, Ms."

The elevator stopped at the communal. She stepped out, now a little more awake than before, and headed for the kitchen. She carelessly tossed the heels somewhere on the kitchen floor because 1) it was quite dark 2) she was damn sleepy to care about putting her heels in the right place.

Barefoot, she walked to the fridge, pulled out a water bottle, finished it, placed it on the kitchen counter and making her to the couch, fell on it, sleep soon taking hold of her again.

* * *

Rose moaned slightly when she felt fingers being threaded through her hair. She smiled to herself and snuggled a bit more peacefully, pressing her head against the soft warm heat source.

Someone chuckled, but she was still sleepy to care about it. The fingers kept caressing her head.

"Don't let her get too comfortable"

Rose froze. That voice was Tony's and it didn't come from near her. Which meant she was not using Tony as her pillow. Which meant that she was lying on someone else's lap. Which also meant it was not Tony running their hands through her hair.

Rose blinked her eyes open, so not to startle anyone-even herself, and looked around.

"She's awake" Tony repeated

The hand got removed so she slowly raised her head to look at her pillow. A bit of relief came over her when she found it was Clint's thigh she was using as a pillow and it was Clint who was running his hands through her hair

"Morning sunshine" Clint grinned

"Morning" she replied back softly and raised a little only for the duvet to slip off her a little. Suddenly feeling a bit chilly, she pulled it to cover herself. When she tried feeling her legs, she felt a weight on them. Looking at the end of the couch, she was almost startled. Her legs were resting on Steve's lap, covered in the duvet. Steve who was reading the morning newspaper with headphones plugged in, had his one arm secured around her legs as if to prevent her from falling off the couch. Which was a possibility hence the reason she had a queen-sized bed. She turned a lot in her sleep

"Steve" she called, but the guy was too engrossed in his music and headlines. She tried tugging her legs but his grip was strong

Natasha walked from behind her, spared her a smile, and smacked Steve on the back of his head. Steve frowned a little, removed his headphones and lowered the paper

"What?"

"Are you planning on giving Rose's legs back to her or keeping them to yourself?"

Steve shot her a perplexed look and then looked at Rose, who was wide awake and smiling at him with a flushed look. He immediately let go of his hold of her legs

"Sorry" he said, trying to cool down before the embarrassment warmed his cheeks pink.

Rose shook her head with a small smile and pulled her knees to herself. She wrapped her arms around her knees under the duvet and looked around the communal. It was a rare sight to find the communal this silent.

"Breakfast?" Tony asked

Rose shook her head and yawned, covering her mouth with her hand "Jetlag" she muttered "JARVIS increase the temperature a little please"

"How long have you been flying?" Clint asked

"Don't know" she sniffed once "I think my last flight was for 5 hours or something"

Natasha narrowed her eyes and headed for the pink-haired girl. She pressed the back of her hand against Rose's forehead and then the palm against the above chest area

"Rose, you have a fever" she said

" 'M fine" Rose muttered. As if to prove her own self wrong, she sneezed hard

"You were saying?" Natasha sat next to her

Tony approached the women and checked Rose's body temperature. She was in fact feverish.

"Rosi-"

Rose sniffed "It's just common fever." she replied, her voice sounding weak "I'm fine, guys"

"For all we know, it could be worse" Natasha countered "Come on" she placed a hand on Rose's lower back

"Where to?"

"To see if Bruce got something for your fever. Come on. Get up"

"Nat" Rose slightly whined

"Nope. You are getting something for that" Nat got up and tugged Rose's arm

"Dad" Rose looked at Tony

"You should get that looked, munchkin" Tony nodded back, his 'Dad' voice making an appearance.

Rose knew a lost cause when she saw one. Sighing to herself, she stood up, a bit weakly. Natasha looped her arm around Rose's and guided her to the Medical floor

* * *

Tony was restless. He was worried about his daughter. It wasn't like Rose never got sick but for the past four years, she had an incredible health streak, minus a few bad migraines. But the fever was a first.

"It's most probably just a normal fever, Tony" Steve reasoned

Tony sighed and looked at him "Normally, I would have agreed Cap, but this Rose. And nothing is ever normal with my daughter" he grunted

"Oh..kay" Clint trailed off "Maybe she got a magical version of fever. Does something like that exist?"

"Not that I've heard off" Tony replied "they did have dragon pox at one time, but it was later completely eradicated"

"Dragon pox?" Clint blinked

"Their version of chickenpox" Tony shrugged

"so wait, dragons are real?!"

Tony blinked at the archer

"Yes"

"Holy fuck!"

Steve, next to Clint, rolled his eyes

"Language" he muttered which both of them ignored

Before Clint could ask anything further, the elevator dinged open and Bruce and Natasha came out

"How's Rosie?" Tony asked

"About that" Bruce nodded, but no one missed the worry lacing his voice "What's the highest temperature Rose's fever has ever reached?"

Tony frowned "Uh...102.8°F. She was 13-ish. Why?"

"She hasn't had a fever since she was 13?" Steve asked

"Once or twice but never till that point" Tony replied "She has a great immune system"

"Well, right now her fever's reading 105.4°F, Tony. That's alarming"

"What?!" Steve literally jumped on his feet "That's insane!"

Tony just blinked in confusion "you have any idea what caused?"

"I don't wanna take chances with her, considering her magical background" Bruce replied "Where's Mia?"

"She went to HQ to submit her monthly report" Clint replied, his jaw a little tight "Is Rose gonna be okay?"

"I gave her something hoping it would reduce the fever," Bruce said uncertainly

"I'll call Hannah," Tony said

"I was going to ask you to do that. It's better if she checks her over" Bruce agreed

* * *

Hannah entered the communal through the stairs to meet everyone there.

"so?" Mia asked, who had arrived about 30 minutes before and was debriefed. Even she had started panicking at Rose's temperature

"It's a lot of factors. Exhaustion, dehydration, a bit of cold. She literally worked herself to the bone." Hannah replied and shook her head "that girl's gonna be the death of me, I swear to Merlin" and then she looked at Tony "no offense"

Tony waved her off with a smile

"I gave her some potions to heal. Her body's got a bit faster metabolism, so your normal stuff won't work on her" Hannah told Bruce "there're some potions next to her and I told JARVIS about the dosage. Other than that, just make sure she rests. A lot. No office, no lab, no meetings, no world-saving business. Just bed-rest for at least a week."

"Easier said than done, Dr. Abbott" Clint snorted

"I know" Hannah smiled cheekily "She puts up a fight and she hates hospitals"

Clint snorted. that was an understatement

"Anything else, Han?" Mia asked

Hannah shook her head "Don't overcrowd her. Let her rest. If her condition worsens, let me know. We'll need to shift her to St. Mungo's, then."

"How long before she's discharged, though?" Steve asked

"one week"

"and how long before she could work in her lab or office?" Natasha, asked, amusement clear in her expressions and voice

Hannah shot the redhead a long look "I'll get back to you on that, Agent. But she needs a lot of rest. Tie her to the bed if you need to, but bed-rest is a must"

* * *

The whole day, Rose slept in her room. Whatever potions Hannah had left for her, they did an amazing job. Bruce had gone twice to check up on her and he had informed them that her fever seemed to be going down, but slowly. Mia had been mothering Rose the whole day, which was not much surprising. what actually was surprising was Tony's 'Dad' persona making an appearance.

For the first time he willingly entered the kitchen and cooked. Usually on his days on the roster, Pepper helped him or he refused to cook giving the excuse that he was one of those talented people who could burn water. That day the whole team realized that he was an excellent cook, but only when he wanted to. Tony had made quite an amount of tomato rice soup and went to her room to give it to her. He spent the entire evening with her, only coming down for dinner.

Pepper covered for her in office, hence she was in LA to cover her in a secondary BoD meeting

The next day, Natasha took Mia's job, since the other resident witch had some work at SHIELD HQ. Natasha and Tony took turns in taking care of Rose. What was even more surprising was that not once did Rose whine or complaint. She just stayed there in her room, resting. And it told everyone that something was not right. Rose hated bed-rest

And it was soon found out why. On the third day, when Nat had gone to fetch Rose to have breakfast around 11 AM, she found the room empty. The bed was made, but Rose was nowhere to be found. This only caused the Russian to swear when she realized that Rose had given them all a slip.

* * *

Rose signed at the right bottom, flipped the paper, signed again, flipped again, and another sign, before she mentally groaned, closed the file and looked up with the fakest smile she could conjure up.

"There you go, Mr. Gillman." she handed back the file "You have to deliver your newest line within a week. 24 hours following that, the payment would be credited to your bank account" she smiled

"Thank you, Ms. Stark" Gillman nodded "We won't be late"

Rose smiled again and Gillman stood up, his PA (Leo, was it?) followed him. Rose stood up too, shook hands with Gillman

"I look forward to having more relations" Gillman grinned.

Rose internally winced. Gillman was in his late 50's with greying hair, receding hairline, and wrinkles. Despite being the owner of a small company that made software applications, all NovaTech needed was a small tag of 'Stark Industries Approved' to have their shares increase by at most 30%. She didn't really like dealing with Trevor Gillman, especially when he looked like a pedophile with that grin. And despite her being 23, many told her that she still looked like she was in her late teens. And he looked like he was sizing her with that creepy look he was giving her.

Rose raised a brow at that comment

"Business relations" Gillman mended with an 'easy' smile

"..of course" Rose replied, a little uneasy herself.

Gillman pulled his hand back

"Let me walk you out, Mr. Gillman" Brittany, who was standing next to her the whole time, said. With that she led Gillman and his PA out of the office.

The second the three were out, Rose slumped back on her seat. She reached to her computer, looking for the pending projects in the R&D. She was answering some emails when Brittany cleared her throat next to her.

"Could you have not postponed that meeting with turtle-head?" Rose asked, tiredly, cheek resting on her hoisted fist.

"Postpone to when, mam?" amusement shone in Britany's voice

"I don't know...maybe, never?"

Brittany huffed "You've already postponed this meeting by a whole month, which I'm having trouble digesting in the first place."

"three years and you still haven't gotten used to it, have you?" Rose chuckled

"Not all things considered, mam" Brittany replied

"I hate to ask but what all do I have this week?"

"Well, you have a charity event in two days, an invitation to a movie premiere"

"Who's it star?"

"DiCaprio"

"Ohkay" Rose nodded

"And you also have th-" Brittany was interrupted when the door to her office room opened and Mia strode in, looking cross, which only made her wince. She had made a full proof plan.

Okay maybe not entirely full-proof but she thought that they will her alone till evening at least.

"I can explain," Rose said at once

"Then go ahead" Mia frowned, arms crossed, looking at her with at most disappointment

"This was a very important meeting. And I've been put it away for a whole month. I needed to attend this, I swear. Brittany," she looked at her PA almost begging "back me up please"

Brittany blinked twice. She had no idea what was going on but apparently Rose did something that Hermione Granger didn't approve of.

"Uh..." Brittany flushed not knowing what to say. What she even backing up Rose against?

"Hannah said bed rest-"

"I had bed rest"

"for a week-"

"that's too long!"

"not two days! Rose shut up!"

Rose shut up. Brittany nervously glanced between the two of the most powerful witches of the Magical World before taking a step back. She did not want to be anywhere close if a duel started between the two. Sure she always had her wand on her, but getting stuck between the Rose Potter and the Hermione Granger, well that was a horrible circumstance.

"Does she have anything else for today?"

It took Brittany a second to realize that the question was directed to her

"Uh..." she quickly checked the schedule in the tab

"Stop intimidating my PA" Rose grumbled but they both ignored her

"Nothing else for today, Ms. Granger" Brittany replied, nervously gulping at the look she was given

"Can you clear the rest of her schedule for the week?" Mia asked

"No! I have very important stuff to get to!"

"Can you?" Mia asked, ignoring Rose's worried looks

"I can postpone a few meetings."

"Good" Mia nodded "Pepper can take care of the rest" she nodded again and then glared at Rose "and you! You are coming with me willingly or I'll petrify your arse and drag you upstairs. The choice is yours"

Rose pouted for a long while before she sighed, stood up, straightening her blazer. she spared a small smile for Brittany before heading out, Mia following her

The moment she entered the communal, she was met with the angry, disappointed and worried looks by the whole team

"Save the lecture" she muttered and headed to her room, via the stairs

"You know, I think one of us should guard her room should she give us a slip again" Clint snorted

"We should do it by turns" Natasha nodded "Knowing her, she'll do it again"

"she's an escapist, guys" Tony butted in "She'll find a loophole"

"Are you even worried about her health?" Natasha frowned

Tony narrowed his eyes "No. not at all. It's not like she's my only daughter or something, now is it?"

Mia rolled her eyes "She hates being confined to bed, or within closed walls unless she has work. And seeing that all her work required her to be either in the office or in another city or country," Mia shrugged

"She's not tinkering?" Steve asked

"Not at the moment" Tony replied "Her suit's done. She's upgraded my and Rhodey's suit. Her product is manufacturing and won't be done for the next two weeks. She technically has no work that requires her to sit down"

Almost everyone audibly sighed

"I better see how she's doing," Bruce said, getting up

* * *

Rose was irritated. And she was fine. The fever wasn't that bad, no. She felt better, enough to work. She knew herself. If she needed rest, she'd rest. What did they think she was doing the past two days, lying in the bed, sleeping and dozing on potions? She was resting but now she was done. Hannah was her healer, yes, and she cared about her friend, but one week was too long.

A knock on the door grabbed her attention just as she was removing her bra. Whoever made that contraption needed to be tortured in Hell for centuries.

"Just a second!" she called out, quickly pulling on a loose t-shirt. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be returning to the office for the rest of the day, so she changed into a large shirt and pajama shorts. Tying her in a loose ponytail, she walked to the door and opened it to find Bruce

"What's up?" she asked

Bruce gave her a knowing look. With a roll of eyes, she let him enter and took the thermometer from him, putting it in her mouth. She waited until it beeped and the handed it to Bruce, who sat on an armchair opposite to the bed

"How much?" she asked, sitting cross-legged on the bed

Bruce scoffed "You feeling fine?"

"Kinda back to normal. Why?"

Bruce turned over the thermometer for her to read which showed 101.6°F

"Hey, at least I'm out of the critical range"

Bruce sighed "Rosie, 101.6°F is not comforting. Just because you are out of the critical range doesn't mean you are not at the risk of reaching it again. You had all of us worried"

Rose sighed, twiddling her thumbs as she looked down on her lap.

"People usually die at 105°F, you know"

Rose sighed again, shrinking more into herself, but she muttered something that Bruce vaguely heard

"Run that again" Bruce prompted, trying not to sound as amused as he actually was when he vaguely heard her

"I'm not dead" Rose repeated, a little louder

"Yet" Bruce added

"Yet" she repeated, nervously nodding

"Rosie" Bruce walked to her and crouched in front of her "You just cannot take impulsive decisions like these anymore. You love your job, I know it. We all do. But if you keep on prioritizing other stuff over your health, it's gonna bite back you in the ass in future. And we don't want that, do we?"

Rose bit her lip as she shook her head "But I don't like being useless" she muttered

Bruce chuckled and slowly tucked a piece of hair, that fell over her face, behind her ear "Take my word for it. You are the last useless person on this team. Just because you are not working in your lab or in SI doesn't mean you are useless. You are still useful in so many ways. And no one likes you just because you and your dad gave us a place to live and make us badass weapons. You both are my friends, Rose. Even family. You are like that niece I never had or wanted. And I'm pretty sure the Other Guy agrees too. He has always had a soft spot for you, you know"

"Really?" Rose asked, looking into Bruce's brown eyes

"Really" Bruce nodded with a chuckle and shifted a little "so how about we come to an impasse?"

"Like what?" Rose raised a brow as default

"Like, two more days of rest, excluding today and proper intake of medications. And I'll talk to Hannah about letting you work sooner. Deal?"

Rose bit her lip as she went over whatever Bruce offered. It was a little tempting and she could finally get one on Hannah. What was Hannah thinking? The Avengers were her family. They would always take her side. Rose mentally snorted

"Deal" Rose smiled

Bruce smiled back and stood up, placing a kiss on Rose's head "Get some sleep. Tony'll wake you for dinner"

Rose nodded with a smile and slithered under her sheets.

Bruce glanced at one more time before he closed the door and walked out

* * *

No one knew what happened between Rose and Bruce, but whatever it was, it was good. Rose stayed in the next day. She took a lot of rest and sleep. Her fever had lowered further to around 100°F and everyone was optimistic that she would have completely normal temperature by the next day.

Another good news came in the form of an invitation for Bruce to attend a science meet in Berlin. Hence it was safe to assume that the world was adjusting to the Hulk and was willing to give Bruce another chance. And after much coaxing from the Avengers, he had finally decided to attend the meet, but not alone. Mia volunteered to be his company. She had wanted to visit her parents for a while now, anyway.

Coincidentally, Tony got a call from Malibu that the mansion was finally complete and he was needed to check everything.

Natasha got an untimely call for a mission and she left too, hating to leave two well-known troublemakers with Steve.

* * *

Clint was in the kitchen making himself some ham sandwich when,

"Agent Barton, Ms. Stark's vitals are lowering and she's having trouble sleeping. Immediate assistance is required"

Clint froze, sandwich forgotten. Swearing under breath, he ran to Rose's room and barged in. She was in fact trembling under the covers and her sleepy face looked flushed and sweaty. Clint rushed to her and touched her forehead. it was a little hotter than the day before but unlike the very first day.

"Thermometer, JARVIS?"

"First drawer, the table on Ms. Stark's left side"

Clint quickly took grabbed the thermometer and placed in under Rose's tongue, while completely covering her. Her shivering only lessened a little but didn't stop. When Clint checked the thermometer he swore again. it read 103.2°F. The best idea he got was to wake her up and give whatever medication Hannah left for her. Then he realized that he had no idea what potions to give her. But JARVIS did

"JARVIS, what potions were to be given in this case?" he asked while waking Rose up

Rose woke up quite quickly and following JARVIS's instructions, Clint gave the potions. Once he was done, her shivering had completely stopped

"thanks" she muttered, her face still flushed

"No problemo, kiddo" Clint chuckled "Are you gonna have any more trouble sleeping?"

"I don't know" Rose softly replied

"Hmm" Clint nodded to himself and within the next moment, kicked off his shoes, unzipped and removed his jacket and crawled under the sheets next to her

"What are you doing, Clint?" Rose frowned

"Giving you company" Clint grinned cheekily

"what if you get sick too?" Rose asked

"I'd be fine, Rosie. Now come on. you need rest" he gently tugged on her full-sleeved shirt

"Dad'll kill you if he found you here with me" Rose muttered.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a guy sharing the bed with his sick little sister to give her company. And you weren't thinking twice before using me as a pillow the other day" Clint smiled smugly "and what he doesn't know won't hurt"

"right" Rose muttered, yawning and before either of them knew she went back to sleep. Smiling to himself, Clint also snuggled in the pillows and closed his eyes when a sudden thought hit him. Did Tony deliberately make his bed like a prison bed while Rose's felt like sleeping on silk and satin?

* * *

The next time Rose was woken was when she felt someone's cold hand on her warm forehead. she slowly opened her eyes and distinctly felt the owner of the hand freeze before the hand was removed. She blinked twice to adjust her eyes before she looked at the person who woke her. Steve Rogers

"Did I wake you up?" Steve asked in a hushed tone

"Not really" she shook her head with a smile "Is everything okay?"

"Your temperature seems to have gotten a bit normal"

"I sure hope so" Rose said, tried to sit up only to stop at weight over her stomach. Looking down, she found it to be an arm. Which belonged to Clint Barton, who was sleeping next to her, very soundly. He was in fact snoring a little.

"So he does snore" Rose muttered, amused. Clint had always been too keen to debunk Natasha whenever she claimed that he snored in sleep.

"You feeling okay?" Steve asked, sitting down next to her on the bed

"a little better, yeah." Rose smiled "Where's everyone?"

"Uh...Bruce's in Berlin for some science meet. Nat's on a mission and Tony's in Malibu. The mansion is completed, so went to check everything"

Rose nodded "What were you doing?"

"Gym" Steve shrugged "and we were a little low on a few groceries, so I went for a refill"

Rose nodded and looked down at her hands before her head snapped at Steve "Wanna watch a movie?" she asked

"You need to rest, Rose," Steve said

Rose rolled her eyes "You are mothering me" she muttered, slightly amused. Which only increased when Steve blushed a little

"No, I'm not" Steve replied

"Yes, you are" Rose grinned

Steve chuckled and ran a hand through his blonde hair "Maybe a little"

"It's fine" Rose smiled "Pampered by Avengers, dream come true" she sighed dreamily, which only made Steve laugh

Rose looked next to her and frowned when Clint didn't even flex a muscle in his sleep. How deep did he sleep?

"You sure you are fine enough to watch a movie in communal?"

"Who said anything about communal?" Rose asked. JARVIS, taking a cue, revealed the hidden wall-mounted TV just opposite to the bed

"You thought I just work and sleep in my room?" Rose raised a perfect black brow

Steve blinked twice at the tv, which was half the size of the one that was on the communal, but still pretty big

"What about Clint?"

"What about him?" Rose looked at Steve "Relax. He'll sleep through an apocalypse by the looks of it. If he wakes up, he can watch the movie"

Steve nodded at the agreement

"How about you pick a movie and I'll get popcorn?" Steve offered

Rose nodded in return and Steve left to the kitchen to get popcorn

* * *

If later at night, any of the remaining avengers returned home and found the three of Rose, Steve, and Clint in Rose's room, snuggled and sleeping with credits of a movie rolling on the TV before them and an empty bowl of popcorn nearby, they just clicked a picture and closed the door behind them

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my! whatever happened to the comments and kudos? They are just appearing less and less. Are they affected by this worldwide pandemic too? Pls, let me know. Also, is anyone out there trying to find out what happened to them? Is anyone even concerned about them!
> 
> JK😋. I'm getting sufficient kudos. Comments could do better, tho. But thanks for everyone for supporting this story


	13. The Day of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first Valentine's Day for the team. For some, it's just 14th February. For some, the day turns special.

14th February.

Rose bit her lip as she looked at the digital calendar in her room. The 14th date was highlighted with little pink hearts around the border. It may not be a govt. declared holiday, but Valentine's day was an off for Stark Industries, for everyone. From janitors to CEO, everyone had the day off. And that was exactly what made it worse. V-Day wasn't the worst holiday. Nope. That no.1 spot would always belong to Hallowe'en. But V-day made it to her top 5 ever since she was little.

There was a brief time in her teens when she loved the day and actually waited for it the whole year(sound's ridiculous, she's aware of it). But now, Valentine's day was not only a bad reminder of what all she lost, but it was also a bad reminder of what she could have had if the war had not broken out. And she hated being reminded of her past.

A brief knock on her window grabbed her attention. Looking there, she groaned quite loudly as she spotted a regal looking owl, clutching a small paper bag in its beak. Before she could even make her way to the window frame, another own approached this time carrying a red envelope. When will this day be over?!

* * *

Steve pressed his lips together as he looked at the date on his paper calendar.

14th February

Valentine's day.

He grunted in irritation 'cause he had no plans on how to celebrate the day of love. And now he felt stupid. Earlier in the day, he never bothered about the said day of love, but this time, it was different. He had a woman he was gradually falling for. And he wanted this day to be important for him. Despite all his past screw-ups regarding Rose, he had no intention of screwing up this day.

Now all he had to do was make a plan. Which was so not his forte. Give him tactical planning for attack any day and he'd do like fish in the water but planning for Valentine's day? Then he was like a fish out of water. Despite living in the modern era for less than a year and knowing Rose for the same amount of time, he had no idea about Rose's likes and dislikes.

Now he had four options: Tony, Clint, Natasha, Mia.

Tony was a definite no-no. He did wonder, though, how would the Man of Iron react if he found out that Capt. America has a thing for his only daughter. Probably getting punched would be a good starter

He could go to Clint for suggestions but was not sure of the idea. Clint had been vocal about how he considered Rose as a sister. He never wanted to get on the bad side of his archer teammate, despite him being his friend too. As he had found out, Clint was very protective of what was his.

As far as Nat was concerned, she was a tricky choice too. She was also close to Rose and the three women in the team often spent a lot of time together. Nat might guide him in the right direction but...a lot of what if's appeared in his head.

The final and most sane option was Mia. She had been Rose's BFF since they were kids, so technically they knew each other brilliantly. The part that worried him was that Mia would ask a lot of questions. Questions he might not be ready to answer.

A sudden thought appeared. Was Rose close to everyone but him? If that was the cause, he really had to remedy that. And today might be the best opportunity

* * *

When Steve made his way to the communal for breakfast after his routine morning jog and shower, he found a welcoming scent of breakfast inviting him. He went to take a place next to Mia, who gave him a soft smile

"'Morning, Steve"

"Good morning, Mia" Steve smiled back as he looked across the room noticing the absence of certain billionaires.

"Where's Tony and Rose?" he asked

Clint slid him a breakfast plate "Tony's got a date" he grinned

"With who? Pepper?"

"hm-mm" Mia nodded "It's Valentine's day. They scheduled a day for themselves"

"Lucky bastard" Natasha muttered, from next to Mia as she looked at something on a Starktab.

"And Ro-"

Steve was cut by an angry stomping of boots that came around and soon Rose appeared, a cardboard box in her arms. Her expressions looked as if someone had insulted her birds. She slammed the box on the kitchen island and stood between Natasha and Mia

"Wow," Mia eyed the box "This is more than last year isn't it?"

Rose sighed, hand on her hip "I hate this"

"What's this?" Clint poked the box with the spatula

"Valentine's Day letters from Romeo's all across the world" Rose replied and everyone just gaped.

"This much?" Bruce lifted the box "It is quite heavy"

"They started coming at 6 this morning," Rose complained

Natasha lifted a random white envelope. On the front was written Rose's name written in beautiful cursive.

"Can I?" she looked at the pink-head who shrugged it off

Natasha opened the envelope and pulled out a folded paper which was not only hot-pink in color but horrible on eyes.

"Who thought it was a good idea to write a Valentine's Day card on that colored paper?" Natasha grumbled. The message was written in white but it took quite a strain to read it

"Majority of asshole men assume that my favorite color is pink because I died my hair in rose-gold" Rose sat down and Clint passed her breakfast

"And what happens to be your favorite color?" Natasha raised a brow

"Red and Gold" she replied

"Tony's suit" Bruce snorted

"No. I mean, not entirely. Red and Gold were the color schemes from my alma mater, my school sports team in which I played for 6 years, my mum was a red-head. A lot of factors." she replied

"What's it say?" Mia leaned in a little

"Dearest Rose," Natasha cleared her throat and resumed, adding a bit of her own dramatic flair to it "You are beauty, you are grace. I know you are more than just a beautiful face. You've stolen my heart, you've stolen my soul. I could not ask for anything more. You are my angel, you are my sunshine. Let me just ask you this, will you be my valentine?"

Silence and suddenly Mia started laughing and everyone joined her

"He sounds like a guy who just graduated from Chris Brown school of lyrics writing" Clint scoffed

Rose giggled at that "Trust me I've seen worse than this"

"People send it to you from all across the world?" Steve asked, trying not to frown

"More or less. Wizarding mail is easier, faster, and affordable. Many send it with their owls which I have no idea why. It just tires those poor things"

"Oh take my word for it. Birds are anything but poor" Clint butted

"Says the guy who goes by Hawkeye" Mia deadpanned which caused them all to laugh

"Yeah yeah, whatever" Clint waved them off

"Who wrote this shit?" Natasha muttered looking around the hot pink paper and finally finding something on the backside, "Dave Mathers" she read

"Right" Rose nodded "we met him, remember?"

At Nat's confused frown, Rose explained "Monaco race circuit? the bleach blonde who wouldn't stop flirting with me?"

"the one with the ugly half-sweater?" Natasha asked

"Yup. Him" Rose nodded "That's Dave Mathers. he's been sending me these letters for two years now. I hate it"

"the letters or the guy who sent it or the day?" Bruce asked

"Everything!"

Everyone looked at Rose

"You hate the day of love?" Clint asked

"Yes!" Rose nodded "It's not a day of love for me. It's a nightmare" she scoffed

That took Steve by surprise. Sure he knew a bunch of people who weren't fond of V-Day but to hate it that much?

"She's been hating this day since were fifteen" Mia chuckled

"Why? What happened at 15?" Natasha asked

"Someone tried to slip her love potion"

"No way!" Clint exclaimed, "Love potions are real?"

"Oh yes," Rose scoffed "Love potions are very legit."

"How long do they last?" Bruce asked

"We have two of them. A standard one, which lasts for a fortnight top, depending on the dosage. Other's Amortentia. It's the strongest love potion to exist. It lasts for a couple of months"

"It's said that Amortentia doesn't have a smell of its own. It smells like what you are attracted to the most" Mia added

"What did you smell?" Steve asked, curiously

"Well, I smelled fresh cut grass, new parchment and my fiance's scent" Mia shrugged

"you're cute" Natasha slightly nudged Mia, a smile on her face. Mia returned a smile and a minor blush and cleared her throat nervously

"Rose?" Clint prodded

"Treacle tart, motor oil, my then boyfriend's cologne. Oh and chocolates"

"Would you still smell the same?" Bruce asked

Rose shook her head "I'm pretty sure if I smelled it now, it would be different. I was 15 back then. I don't know what I'd smell, but it'd be different than before"

Steve briefly wondered if he ever smelled Amortentia, would he get Rose's flowery scent?

"Where could I get it?" Natasha asked

"We can brew it for you" Mia offered. Before anyone could speak, she added "Though we strongly suggest against it"

"Amortentia is a very strong and dangerous potion. It doesn't create love. it creates infatuation and obsession." Rose added

"So someone slipped you Amortentia?" Clint asked

"Oh no!" Rose laughed "they tried to slip me the standard one."

"I sense a story," Natasha asked

Mia started giggled only to be hit by Rose

"Okay, I and my brother, Ron, were on our school sports team. So we bunked a few classes in favor of the practice."

"You did what?" Mia looked at Rose in shock

"We won the cup" Rose reminded her

"but that is no excuse for bunking classes! You cannot skip classes like that!"

"Hermione" Rose started "we graduated 5 years ago"

Mia blinked twice "right"

Others shot Mia amused looks which Rose shrugged and resumed

"so, we skipped a few classes. And to cover up, we would pull all-nighters to study. It was a regular night and we were studying on the couch. We didn't remember that it was V-Day the following day. We were studying and we had no idea when we dozed off. There on the couch. Then I woke up in the middle of the night to some weird noise. Ron was sitting there, eating a box of chocolates, which I had no idea where they came from. And Ron had this dreamy look on his face. He kept saying that he was in love. Basically he acted like a love-sick puppy"

Rose grinned "I looked around and found this letter addressed to me. It took me a minute to realize that the chocolates were laced with a love potion meant for me but my brother accidentally ate them"

This caused a round of laughter among the group

"Did you ever find out who sent those chocolates?" Mia asked

"Oh yeah," Rose turned to Mia "It was Hardik Tandel. He signed the letter"

"Was your brother okay?" Natasha asked

"Oh yeah. I just got him to the hospital wing at 2 in the middle of the night. Let's say the matron was not happy" Rose snorted "and then that oaf had to end up falling for my best friend" she shrugged "I don't know who has more rotten luck. Mia, Ron or me"

This caused a few more chuckles and a glare from Mia followed by a smack.

"Ever since then, I've been getting a lot of stuff laced with love potions. Candies, chocolates, sweats, even teddy bears. And it's disgusting" Rose slightly shuddered

"Must suck to be the most eligible bachelorette in the USA, right?" Bruce laughed

"Please don't tell me you never were the center of womanly attention, Bruce. Many women have nerds as their types" she smirked, which only caused Bruce to blush a little

"You would know, wouldn't you?" he asked cheekily and Rose snorted

"I'm the biggest nerd you'd find" Rose looked at Mia and jabbed her thumb at her "next to her."

Mia smacked her which only had Rose laugh

"anyway. Nerds, not my type. I'm more into..." Rose shrugged "rule-breaking, rebellious, but the heart of gold kinda men"

"So basically a younger Tony" Natasha noted, taking a bite of the second serve Clint placed in her plate "I'm not surprised"

Steve's heart clenched. Now that he thought, he was nowhere near like Tony. Hell, that was his first doubt when he admitted his feelings for Rose. He had a spat with her father and the two started on rough ground. He always wondered if Rose could ever forgive him for that, even though Tony had.

"Well not exactly like Dad. Dad's a kid trapped in an adult body. I look for a man who has a bit more feelings, responsible, and fun-loving."

Steve slightly nodded to himself. Okay. He did have a few of those. So maybe if he placed his pieces right, he could change that preference

"I'm pretty sure a man like the one I ever want, doesn't exist. Hence, I've stopped looking and settled for one-night-stands" Rose shrugged and looked at the box warily

"You know what? Do whatever you want to do with them. Incinerate them, use them as target practice, or for your future missions, whatever. There're some chocolate boxes below which I can guarantee are laced with love potions" Rose shook her head "and I cannot take this day anymore." she stood up and moved out a little "I'm leaving"

"What? Got a date?" Clint teased

"Yeah" Rose deadpanned "With my bed and comforter. You know, they are loyal to me-" she perispherically noticed something out of the huge window and turned her head "to the fault" she trailed off walking closer to the window. Wondering what had caught her attention, others also followed to stop and almost gasp. Or in Steve's case, freeze.

'Will you be my valentine, Rosa?' was written in mid-air in the fire which vanished as soon they all read it.

And following that, Johnny Storm landed on the balcony in his all fire-y glory. He extinguished himself and stood there, a pink box of chocolates, a bouquet of bright purple-white orchids and a cheeky smile with him

Steve had never hated a man in his life as much as he hated Johnny Storm at the moment. Okay maybe he did hate Johann Schmidt for a long time and even Tony and Fury for a while, but this was...ugh!

Rose just turned. She wouldn't deny it if asked, but she was planning on running. She'd run to her room and lock it, hide under the covers, and will come out the next day. sustenance be damned.

Rose had just taken a step back when someone gripped her arm tightly. It was Mia.

"You have to face him, Rose," Mia said in a hushed whisper

"No. No. You deal with him. Tell him I'm sick. Anything. I never go looking for my sex partners after the deed, let alone accept V-Day gifts from them!" she added in an equally hushed tone

"Rose, he can see you" Mia deadpanned "Now go and be the lioness you have always been proud of" Mia slightly pushed her towards the balcony. Okay, now made it about her pride and ego, which only made Rose hate having Mia for V-Day. That girl knew her strings. Rose easily found the step and opened the balcony door and stepped out

"Feeling well, my darling?" Johnny grinned

Rose shrugged "I've been good"

"Great. so lemme ask a very important question for the day. Will you be my valentine?" he extended the chocolate box and bouquet.

Rose bit her lip. This was a fucking nightmare. She hated Valentine's day. Coming out of the bed this morning was a mistake. But then Johnny looked quite cute, not to mention hot in his suit which highlighted his abs and perfect chest, standing there.

Rose took a deep breath, and taking an impulsive decision, pressed her lips on Johnny's. Johnny's one arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, just when Rose pulled and took a step back

"Sorry. I can't" she said, as apologetically as she could. She liked Johnny but she never wanted to break his heart.

"I'm sorry" she repeated and turned to return inside when Johnny caught her wrist and pulled her back. She anticipated a kiss, but instead, Johnny brought her hand upwards and kissed her knuckles ever so softly while looking at her through his lashes. God, wasn't that hot! Rose unconsciously squirmed a little on her spot, hoping no one would notice.

"I'll try again next year, my fair lady" her smirked, pecked her lips and thrust the flowers and chocolate in her arms

"complimentary gift" he winked "'Cause you look as gorge as ever, babydoll" he smirked and jumped off the balcony. Soon a sound of "Flame on" came up and Johnny zoomed around, covered his fire.

Rose took a deep breath, turned around at the amused glances of the team. She even noticed a weird look on Steve that was not resembling amusement even the remotest. He seemed more like...disgusted, which made her feel uneasy. She's been really trying to simmer down her habits since becoming an Avenger. And she had pretty much managed. But she will never change herself for someone. She's probably the only person to give Casanova and Tony Stark a run for their money and she won't change that. Steve can keep his 40's opinion with himself.

She handed Mia the chocolates and the flower "Enjoy" she muttered and left

* * *

The team was bored. For them, V-Day was like just another day. None of them had anyone to celebrate it with(except Clint, not that anyone knew or was being vocal about it). When asked about spending the day of love with her fiance, Mia replied that Ron was pretty packed for the week and she and her fiance had rather planned to celebrate Valentine's day on the upcoming Sunday

To pass their time, the team had come up with the idea of going through the love letters dedicated to Rose, but rather than plain old reading, they decided to enact them in the sappiest way possible. At first, Steve tried to back out but ended up participating. And on the basis of the content, the letters were categorized into-Okay, Bad, Terrible, Obnoxiously Terrible, and You-Need-to-learn-to-write-a-letter categories. Maximum belonged to the fourth and fifth categories.

Somewhere around the 48th letter, mid-afternoon, the elevator chimed, which was not very noticed until they all heard some footsteps. All the Avengers+Mia looked up to see two red-headed men, which confused them all.

Before any of them could say anything, Mia rushed to the shorter one of the two and wrapped him in a tight hug before kissing him

"Geez, mates, save it for the bedroom, will ya?" the taller one said in heavy British, smirking, earning a glare from the two lovers

"What are you two doing here?" Mia asked as she pulled herself a little from the shorter red-head "I thought you two were busy"

"Busy? on V-Day? Rosie would hex our arses into the next century if that happened" the shorter one replied

"We are here for the princess, anyway" the taller one laughed before noticing the gaping looks from others

"Avengers, is it?" the shorter one asked

"Yes" Steve replied

"Well, Rosie talks a lot about you blokes" the taller one chuckled before he spotted Natasha "and bird"

"I'm sorry?" Natasha raised a brow

"British slangs" Mia quickly added "they mean nothing derogatory"

"Anyway, which one of you is Clint?" the taller one asked with a broad grin

Clint looked a bit unsure about being asked about himself by an unknown man, but seeing that Mia knew them, he hesitantly raised his hand

"That's me" he answered a bit unsure

"Oh great" the taller one grinned "Rosie mentions that you have a very active insight in p-"

"No!"

"-pranking" he finished while everyone looked at Mia who looked spooked

"Mia?" Bruce asked

"Oh no no no no!" she recited "This is not happening. This" she quickly gestured between the taller red-head and Clint "is not happening. We have enough troubles on our plates with Clint and Rose together. You do not need to be an addition!"

The taller one raised his hands in surrender with a grin "Hey, relax, 'Mione. I was just asking. No harm in that" he chuckled and turned to the group "sorry for not being polite earlier. I'm Ge-"

"Georgie?"

everyone looked at the stairs behind the couch where Rose stood, blinking. And in another second raced down and enveloped 'Georgie' in a tight hug. 'Georgie' returned the hug and laughed

"Missed you too, Princess" he chuckled

Rose pulled and hugged the other read head, who also laughed

"I seriously thought you lot forgot about today," Rose said, grinning after she pulled

"Hell, we did" 'Georgie' scoffed "and you interrupted my introduction"

"Sorry not sorry" Rose turned around and faced the Avengers with a grin "Everyone, my brothers-George and Ron Weasley"

"Is that red hair trademarked?" Clint asked

"In our family, yes" George grinned "So if you fellas won't mind, we'd like to steal our girls for tonight. It's Valentine's Day"

"What's the plan?" Mia asked

"We are having dinner at SubliMotion and then head to Granada 10 and then Costa Del Son beach. That's the basic blueprint so far" Ron replied

"So cool. Give us 10 to change" Rose grabbed Mia by the arm and the two witches vanished upstairs to Rose's room.

"Hey, don't mind me asking, but which one of you ate love-potion chocolates meant for Rose by mistake?" Clint asked

Ron looked flushed a little by the question while George broke out a huge laugh

"That'd be my little brother here" George grinned

"Rose told you?" Ron asked

"She mentioned" Clint nodded

"Well, wasn't one of my finest moments" Ron shrugged, sitting on a bean bag, George next to him

"Nat?" Bruce looked at the assassin who seemed deep in thought "What're you thinking?"

"SubliMotion" Nat muttered and looked at the Weasleys "Isn't it like the most expensive restaurant in the world?"

"Oh it is" Ron smiled

"How expensive?" Steve asked

"Uh..$2000 dollars a person" Nat replied, which earned her horrified looks from others

"Are you guys insane?" Clint demanded

"Um..no" George replied "It's not that expensive for us. It's roughly 75-80 galleons for us. Affordable"

"What's the exchange rate?" Bruce asked

George looked at Ron who thought for a while "Last I checked it was around...$27 for 1 galleon. Might have changed."

"Wow" Clint breathed "Rosie wasn't kidding when she said wizards are extremely rich, was she?"

"We guess" Ron replied

"Does this happen often?" Bruce asked, "you guys having dinner at this place?"

"Oh no!" Ron chuckled "It's a V-Day tradition"

"Tradition?" Natasha asked

"Hmm-mm" George nodded "We started this like 6 years ago. Give or take a few years. Rose and Ginny, our other sister, rarely had a stable relationship and Mia's family. So I and my brothers came up with the idea of taking our girls to dinner, drinks, fun, stuff every V-Day so they don't have to spend it alone"

"Just these three?" Bruce asked

"Yes" George nodded

"And your wives don't mind?" Natasha asked. She vaguely remembered Rose telling that all but one of her brothers were married, the last one engaged to Mia.

"We spent the entire day with them. The night is for girls. They understand" George smiled

"I'm sorry I'm having a little trouble grasping it, but you are saying that Rose Stark, the playgirl, the most eligible bachelorette in the whole States never had a single stable relationship?" Clint asked

Ron shrugged "she has commitment issues? Look, I don't know, mate. I try not to dwell in my sister's love life."

"So it's basically dinner, drinks, and fun?" Steve asked

"Dinner and fun, yes. Drinks, not really" Ron answered

"Rose gets out of control?" Natasha chuckled

"See" George perked up "Handling a drunk Rose, we all are practiced, we know the tricks. But Rose and Charlie drunk together, now that's just pure disaster"

"Another brother?" Bruce asked

"Second oldest" Ron nodded with a smile "Those two, they don't have limits. These two are the only bachelors in the family so they just do stupid shit. They get drunk and do so much stupidity..." he fondly shook his head "That's the reason Rose and Charlie are banned from a couple of bars in the UK"

That grabbed everyone's attention

"run that again," Natasha said

"Rose and Charlie are banned from 3 bars in the UK" George cheekily replied "and not for a bar brawl"

"Rose told you" Bruce muttered

"she mentioned" Ron cheekily smiled "Things they do is not as violent but super embarrassing."

"What's the price?" Clint asked, amused

"uh...never" Ron shook his head "I love myself and I have got a little bit of self-preservation. If Rosie found out that I told you some stuff, she's gonna turn me into a frog or something equally gross and put me in a jar. She's sadistic alright"

"She'd do that?" Nat raised a brow

Ron nodded and jabbed a thumb towards George "he got to experience"

and suddenly a pillow was smacked on Ron's face "It was one time and I had it coming."

"Wait," Nat interrupted "Granada 10 is a bar"

"How do you know about the place?" George asked

"I've been there once or twice"

The two wizards frowned before George looked up at the ceiling "JARVIS, Granada 10"

Within a second, a holoscreen about the establishment's info appeared and it did seem like a bar

"We are canceling that" Ron declared

"Cancelling what?"

They all saw Rose and Mia step down from the stairs. Mia had changed into a gold sequin tank top, black leather pants, and black wedges. Her brown hair was around in loose curls with side partition and the lower side pinned back with a simple gold pin. Rose had changed into a thigh-length black sequin dress with a mesh neckline and mesh full-sleeves with black ankle boots, showing off her smooth Californian tanned legs. Her pink hair was pulled up into a high wavy ponytail and three pairs of earrings on each ear

"Hmm?" Mia asked, looking at everyone

"Bar" George declared, standing up

"Why are we skipping the bar?" Rose asked

"Because we don't need to add another bar to the list of places you are banned from Rosie" George reminded her

"Oh please, it's just three bars" Rose shrugged "Besides, Charlie's coming. We gotta have a drink night"

"No" Ron shook his head

Rose glared at him and crossed her arms "I'll convince Bill" she nodded to herself, linked her arms with Mia and looked at the team

"Catch you guys later" she grinned

"Bye" Mia smiled

"Have fun, you guys" Bruce smiled

"Yeah, and try not to get banned" Clint grinned

Rose narrowed her eyes at the archer before they widened "Right. I've got something for you in my room. You should get it right now"

"Your room?" Clint asked

"Work desk" Rose nodded. Shooting her a suspicious glance, Clint got up and left for Rose's room

"Details" Nat smiled at the girls

"Have fun" Steve smiled

"Sure" Rose grinned

"Hope to meet you blokes and bird later" George grinned and winked as the elevator doors closed

"Am I the only one who noticed George's missing ear?" Nat looked at the other two

"No" Steve replied "Wonder how that happened"

* * *

Clint entered Rose's room which was spotless as always. Making his way straightaway to her desk, he found an envelope addressed to him. He picked it and opened it. out of it fell a ticket for Broadway and a letter

_Clinton,_

_Broadway ticket for a super-exclusive show for you and lovely Laura. Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy!_

_PS: Laura will reach directly to Broadway. She already has her ticket._

_PPS: Don't forget to wear the bracelet. Laura has one too_

_PPPS: Discussed with Laura. Kids are at my secret base. Laura knows the address_

Clint grinned putting the ticket in his pocket. He was really glad that Rose remembered. Now his real struggle was getting an excuse to tell others why he would be missing the whole evening.

* * *

Steve rubbed his temple slightly as he looked down at the report he was writing. Mia had given them all an ultimatum till the following afternoon and he had another report that had to be started. The small table lamp was not being very illuminating but enough for him to do his work.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Steve glanced at the clock-01:23 AM.

So far Rose, Mia, and Clint hadn't returned yet. Clint had left a few minutes after the girls citing that he had some unfinished at HQ that needed his immediate attention, unsure of when he'd return. Bruce had retired to his room for a day of rest. Natasha decided to test the latest products the Starks designed for her. He had decided to go around the town and see how V-Day was celebrated in the rest of NYC.

Steve curbed his yawn and stretched. He wasn't sleepy, just bored. Paperwork was so boring. He was not trained to do this. Still bored, Steve got up and headed for the kitchen. He went through the cabinets, finally finding some chips. He then headed to the fridge when he heard a little shuffling behind him. The kitchen was pretty dark and everyone he knew of was either out of the house or sleeping. He was just about to shrug it off when he heard a whisper in the dark

"Dim lights, please."

And in a second the lights turned on a little, enough to make out the surroundings.

Steve looked at the source to find Rose standing about a few meters from him, barefoot

"Oh hey," she smiled "Did I wake you up?"

"No" Steve replied "I was awake"

"Awake? It's past midnight. What were you doing?" Rose stepped closer "Ah, midnight snack"

"When did you return?" Steve asked

"Just now" she replied

"and Mia?"

"Went straight away to her room" Rose replied, heading for the fridge

"And you didn't?"

Rose looked up from where she was crouched in front of the fridge. She narrowed her eyes at him and then looked back into the fridge finally pulling out a water bottle

"Nope" she closed the fridge "I need a drink"

"Drink? In the middle of the night?" Steve looked at her amused

"Yes. Because my brothers canceled drinks. So, no liquor. I'm offended on principle" Rose huffed

"Maybe they were right. Based on what they told us" Steve leaned against the counter, looking at her in amusement

"Oh please. They were exaggerating." Rose looked at Steve and at his raised brow, she shrugged "Okay most of it was true. The bottom line, we didn't have drinks. and I want some"

"Maybe you should just grab some sleep"

Rose shook her head, her high ponytail whipping behind her "Nope. Drink first. You wanna join me?"

"I don't get buzzed. Faster metabolism" Steve shrugged, apologetically

"And I've got just the right thing for you" she beamed and quickly jumped on top of the counter. She reached on her tiptoes, swatting her hand on top of the cabinets. she stopped and pulled what looked like a quite large bottle of amber brown liquid. she crouched and jumped down on the floor and shoved the bottle towards Steve

"Odgen's Old Firewhiskey?" Steve read

"Oh yes." Rose grinned "This is meant for witches and wizards. Peeps with a fast metabolism. Works wonders, take my word"

"Why were you hiding it?"

"Dad. He has a thing for these and this stuff is not meant for normal folks. Intoxication is very back. So, wanna try it out?"

* * *

Rose led him to one of the topmost balconies of the tower. And to his shock, jumped on top of the railing wall and sat down

"Not scared that you'd fall down?" Steve carefully approached her

"I like heights" she replied and patted the place next to her. On second thought, Steve also climbed ad took the spot. He looked next to her where Rose was pouring the firewhiskey in two glasses, which had appeared out of nowhere.

"So, how was your day?"

Rose shrugged, her whiskey glass touching her lips "It was good. It would have been great if the drinks weren't canceled" she looked at him as he picked his glass "What about you?"

"Reports" Steve replied, hesitantly taking a sip. Though he didn't miss Rose's wince

"Right. tomorrow's the deadline, right?" without waiting for a reply, she continued "I'm screwed but I'll manage" she took another sip

Steve looked down at the illuminated street about 90 floors below

"Do you miss her?"

Steve looked at Rose, puzzled

"Miss who?"

Rose looked at him, biting her lip a little "Grandma Peggy. It's your first Valentines Day since defrosting"

Steve shrugged a sipped on the whiskey. It slightly burned his throat but he didn't pay much mind to it.

"It's been a while since I've met her." he slightly shook his head "Besides she moved on. I don't think I feel the same for her anymore" but then it struck him "You call Peggy grandma?"

Rose chuckled "Yeah. She's dad's godmother. When I was a kid and dad would have meetings to attend, she babysat me. Which was quite a lot."

Now he understood why Peggy was so excited when he told her that he was attracted to Rose. And then an odd thought struck him. He could have been Rose's grandpa had he not gotten under the ice. A small shudder went down his spine. Nope. he wasn't going to think of that. And he needed a different thought.

"Earlier one of your brothers said that you've never had a stable relationship" Steve softly asked, walking on eggshells. Talking to Rose about her personal life was always walking on eggshells unless you are Tony, Pepper, or Mia "how come?"

Rose snorted "Men usually try to get in a relationship with me either for my fame, money or to sleep with me." she tsked and took another sip "I got used to it. So now I flirt, enjoy my youth and freedom and looks and everything"

"Is it that hard to find a man?"

Rose looked at him. Green eyes bore into his baby blue ones and her lips turned into a smile and she chuckled

"No Steve. It's hard to find a loyal man who'd love me for me. Who'd accept me for me." she exhaled loudly "I stopped trying after so long. One nighters are easier and less fuss" she shrugged again and looked at the New York skyline "It's not like I can flirt with guys like you"

Steve frowned a little. He didn't know what she meant by that. He hoped that wasn't an insult, because it didn't sound like one, but Rose wasn't far from teasing him for belonging to the 'Dark Ages'. Sometimes it was hard for him to see the girl he was falling for being so arrogant. But then, his conscience would remind him that it isn't arrogance, but boldness. That she didn't have a brain-to-mouth filter

Steve looked at her again. She was refilling her glass with the whiskey

"Guys like me?" he asked

Rose looked back at him and blinked, a small smile forming on her lips. Sometimes she loved it when Steve got all oblivious and confused. It made him appear more innocent and cute. But then, this was a man who would never agree to her life-style, her views, her guilty pleasures.

"Yeah" she replied and turned so she was completely facing him, glass on top of the railing and hands around the glass "I don't know if anyone ever told you before, but guys like you aren't made for one-night stands or flirting. Nope," she chuckled "Guys like you are made for stable relationships, commitments...love. And believe me, love is bad for my health"

Steve frowned a little again. It took him a second to realize that the drink was getting a hold on Rose and he preferred her heading for bed, but something (probably his brain) told him to shut up and hear her out

Rose chuckled. She knew she was getting drunk but she needed to finish it. She looked back at him

"Has anyone ever told you how dangerous your smile is? Honestly, it should be declared as a weapon of mass-distraction" she chuckled a little and shook her head "you have a very cute smile, Steve. And you know what, if I had a heart, not the frozen stone-cold one, but a thawed beating heart, I'd have lost it at your smile the day I met you. At the gym" she smiled and looked back at the skyline

What she didn't notice was a blushing super-soldier next to her. He didn't expect to hear that! She thought his smile was cute. She thought he was attra-

"So are you gonna tell her or keep running after her?"

That jolted Steve out of his thoughts.

"What?" he looked at her, a soft warmth engulfing his cheeks

Rose looked at him "the girl you are pining after" she smiled softly "You got that look on you. That look which says you have a crazy crush one someone"

 _It's you_ , his mind supplied, which only increased his blush. But he stayed shut.

"I do not" he protested, though he himself knew how weak that sounded

"Yes, you do" Rose laughed and looked at him and a smirk and glint in her eyes "Does she know?"

"Uh..not yet" he replied. He knew he couldn't lie to Rose. he had to tell her someday. But was today the right day?

"I see" she nodded and took a sip "So, where did you meet her?"

"Here. New York" he replied "about 10 months ago"

"Hmm," she smirked "Lemme guess. Blonde? no? brunette? Black? redhead?"

Steve shook his head with a little smile

"I got it!" she grinned "Maria?"

"What?" Steve laughed "No!"

"Does she live or work in the tower? Hmm, That's a possibility. Pepp-No she's taken. So that leaves...is it Nat and me" she looked back at him "Steve?" her tone was mischievous and teasing

"It's not Maria, Rose" Steve replied, trying not to showcase that she had almost hit the nail on guesswork "And it's not Nat, ei-"

"Is it moi, then?" she grinned "Is it?"

Steve gulped. Should he tell her now? Before he could comprehend anything, Rose laughed "I'm just teasing, Rogers. Cooldown" she chuckled and took a long sip and then faced him "But seriously, is it me?"

Steve looked at the skyline rather

"You can literally have any girl in the world. Are you sure about this one?"

Steve looked at her and nodded "Yeah"

Rose smiled, next to him "Is she worth all the chase?"

"I believe so" Steve replied, emptying his glass

"I'll take your word on that." Rose replied and faced him "I don't have the right to pry in your personal life, but you shouldn't make her wait for long. Like there aren't enough loyal men, there aren't loyal women either. If you think she deserves this, and you deserve her, just go and confess. Tell her. The sooner the better. what do you know?" she shrugged again "By the time you grow a spine, she might get married or something"

"I don't think so" he replied. Getting married and Rose? That was not something he believed in. Rose was beautiful, influential, powerful, and outspoken but like she had said no one knew the girl the way the team had come to know her.

"that much trust, huh?" she chuckled and shook her head "Well, I'm glad you are moving on from the past and starting to live your life. Life is short, Steve. Make the best of it" she grinned and finished her glass

Steve looked at her "I think you are buzzed"

"No" Rose pouted childlike "I can have another glass"

Steve quickly snatched the whiskey bottle and held it far from her reach "You are drunk and you need to sleep"

Rose pouted more and cross her arms over her chest. Steve wanted to laugh but held back to a snicker. Quickly he jumped inside, kept the whiskey bottle on the floor followed by the two glasses and then held Rose strongly around her waist and picking her, kept her back on the balcony

"Bed, Rose"

"See?" Rose's grin was back "You are mothering me again, Rogers"

Steve almost spluttered, but regained his posture "You are drunk"

"and you've said that five million times" she grumbled "Fine"

But neither of them moved from there. Rose looked at him and at the last moment, Steve looked away. He was so glad that they were outside ad it was night because he was blushing like anything! Suddenly he felt something so soft on his cheek. It took him a second to realize that Rose had kissed him

"wh-" he turned back to the youngest Avengers, blushing brighter than before

"Happy Valentine's Day, Steve Rogers" she smiled, turned, and walked back inside, sashaying slightly.

Once she was gone, Steve cleared his throat and shook his head. _Get a grip, Rogers._

Steve sighed and picked the whiskey and the glasses and headed for the kitchen. He washed the glasses and placed them in the cabinet when he heard the elevator open and in the dim lights, he saw Clint enter

"Oh hey," Clint tiredly smiled "What are you doing up at this time?"

Clint's eyes landed on the whiskey bottle he had in his hands. Steve also noticed

"Midnight drinking? doesn't sound like you, Cap"

Steve raised a brow for which Clint raised his hands in a placating manner "Just teasing. Geez." he grinned tiredly "Anyway, what were doing up? Oh wait, I already asked that"

Steve knew that if he told Clint about Rose, he would be giving a spark to a much larger flame which would eventually get Tony's attention as well.

"Reports. We are due tomorrow"

Clint's expressions slowly descended into that of shock "Oh I'm fucked!"

Steve sighed, grabbed some snacks he had previously picked, and headed for his room. Right now, sleep was getting a hold of him and he had to make a plan to confess to Rose soon.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm always open to suggestions, creative criticism, and remarks in the reviews. So pls, R&R.
> 
> PS-I've said this before, I need reviews to prove myself to my folks. Pls, review.


	14. Magical Mishap: I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "when the babysitter's away, the kids will play. And get in a hell lot of trouble"  
> -MistressOfDeath

_Tap! Thud! Tap! Thud! Tap! Thud!_

The ball got caught before it could make it back to Clint's hands.

"Wha-" Clint frowned and looked at the culprit "Steeveee" he whined

"Can you not do that?" Steve frowned, flipping over the file

"But I'm booored!"

Steve rolled his eyes. He really hated dealing with a bored Clint. He became whinier than an irritated Rose. That was why this was always Nat's headache. By the way, where was Natasha when you genuinely need her?

"Don't you have anything to do?"

"Like what?!" Clint plopped on the couch

"Like testing new Stark toys," Steve said, annoyed

"I've tested them all. Starks made nothing new" Clint almost pouted

"Clint?"

"yeah?"

"shut up"

"But I'm bored!"

Steve frowned deeply and looked at Clint

"Alright, Capsicle" Clint pouted and crossed his arms

Steve mentally sighed and went back to the file

The appreciated silence only lasted for 3 minutes and 43 seconds before

_Whoosh! Tap! Whoosh! Tap! Whoosh! Tap!_

More annoyed than before, Steve looked at Clint who was now throwing the miniaturized arrows at a wall painted target like darts.

"Clint" Steve growled, increasingly irritated by every second. But before he could start the scolding, the elevator opened and Nat walked over, phone stuck to her ear

"...Gucci?...it's too much... I think Prada or Versace suits you better..." Nat lightly laughed "sure...yeah. got it...cool. okay...bye"

"Who were you talking to?" Clint asked

"Rose" Nat answered, sitting next to Steve, scrolling down her phone

"And you girls were talking about Fashion houses because?" Clint raised a brow

Nat looked at him "Rose and Mia are at Milan Fashion week. She asked me if I wanted a new dress or something"

"She attends fashion shows?" Steve asked

"when she's bored" Nat shrugged

"I'm bored too!"

Nat rolled her eyes

"You whine one more time, I'm gonna take all your arrows and bows and not give them back to you," Nat said in a very calm tone but it had the effect required on Clint

"Who made you in charge?" Clint demanded

"Mia" Nat shrugged

All of a sudden the whole floor shook, causing Clint-who was standing on top of the couch- to fall down on the floor

"What was that?" Nat demanded

"a big-ass earthquake!" Clint replied

"Tower is earthquake resistant" Steve replied "It's something else"

Then there was a blast, filling the whole room with dust and smoke, causing them all to cough

"We are under attack" Clint took out his bow, lodging an arrow

The dust started settling and to their horror, they were not under attack, but worse. Hulk and Thor were fighting.

"What the fuck?" Nat muttered, eyeing the two, who were too involved in their fight even to notice the big gaping hole they had made in the wall

"Hulk! Thor! Break it you two!" Steve ordered and then ducked suddenly when Mjolnir was thrown his way and then went back into Thor's hand

"What's happening?" Steve looked at the other two. the assassins just shrugged in return.

"Oh my god!"

The trio looked at Tony who had just appeared on the floor, hands-on knees and wheezing

"What's going Tony?" Steve demanded

"About that, Cap" Tony grunted, stretching his back and looking at the two brutes fighting

"I shall prove my worth!" Thor yelled before punching Hulk in the face

"God no worthy" Hulk growled back before dodging and hitting Thor

"Stark" Natasha frowned

"Right. So, Bruce and I were in the lab, finding a way to let Hulk more tamable. Bruce hulked and we were working when Thor came in to ask about Rose but when he saw Hulk, he reminded Hulk of the one time he beat him at the carrier. Hulk got angry. and they started arguing an-"

"and it led to this" Steve finished for him with a frown directed towards the two men who were now destroying their communal.

"Got a way to stop them, genius?" Natasha asked

"Uh..yes" Tony pulled out a small vial and handed it to Clint

"What's this?" Clint asked, taking the small vial

"Concentrated Calming Draught."

"Alright" Clint took one of his special arrows and adjusted the Draught in it. He took an aim and fired. the arrow embedded into Hulk's arm, which made the 8ft gamma beast yelp. Suddenly Hulk faced towards them with a snarl

"Wasn't this supposed to work?" Clint asked, taking a step back

"It was" Tony replied

Hulk threw Thor across the communal and turned towards them. He pulled out the arrow and slowly headed for them, snarling

"Any plan? guys?" Clint asked

"Run?" Natasha provided

Hulk growled and took another menacing step before he stopped. His growl lessened, his features cooled a little and slowly the green started fading away to be replaced by normal human tint

By the time Bruce reappeared, he was on all his fours and panting

"Bruce?" Tony asked

"a second here" came Bruce's strained voice

The four sighed in relief. Tony walked to him and helped him up. Thankfully Bruce was still clothed. Rose had charmed most of his wardrobe in case he ever went big and green.

"You alright there Banner?" Clint asked

"A little sore. That's all"

"Good. 'Cause you're gonna need your strength to rebuild the communal" Nat frowned crossing her arms

"What?" Bruce turned around and froze. Some good part of the communal was destroyed thanks to him and Thor. Wait, Thor?

"Where's Thor?" he asked

"Over there" Steve looked over the other side of the communal floor, where Thor had crashed into the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, destroying the whole thing in his wake.

They all walked to the Norse god, who had just sat up, holding his head and groaning lightly

"You okay there, buddy?" Tony asked

"I'm well, Stark" he nodded and looked at them then at Bruce and a weird expression took upon him. Almost like a pout.

"I see Banner has returned"

"Yes" Bruce frowned and crossed his arms, wincing a little "And I'm sorry but your playmate is not coming out for a while"

"Why?"

"Because the destruction the two of you caused," Steve said looking around

"I thought we were under attack" Clint scoffed

Steve helped Thor up, who looked around the destroyed communal

"We should repair it before Rose and Lady Hermione return" Thor suggested

"We?" Natasha asked

"Aye" Thor nodded

" _'We'_ are not doing anything" Natasha pointed at herself, Steve and Clint "you three, on the other hand, get to work. Now"

"Relax" Tony waved her off "Rose and Mia aren't to return for another two days. We have plenty of time"

"And you know that how?" Clint asked

"They're in Milan, Merida. It's one of the few times a year when Rose likes to spend. Besides, she'll be heading London for a presentation."

Nat raised a brow "I'm surprised you know where Rose is"

Tony frowned "She's my daughter. Of course, I know where she's"

"Alright" Steve interrupted "Enough. You three," he looked at the culprits "try to mend the communal."

"Okay" Bruce nodded

Clint shrugged

"So much for boredom" he muttered ad turned to leave when something came under his foot. He looked at it, bent down and picked it up.

The book looked pretty old. The cover was hard and faded. The pages were made on thick paper and they were yellow with foxing on the edges. The only indicator that the book had recently been used was the colorful stick-up notes on various pages. He flipped it open and went through the pages. It was written in a language he didn't know. And that was how he figured that the book might belong to Rose. Finally, he found a single page where the entire text had its translation written in English between the lines. Especially a certain line which read-' _good substitute for S. Potion_ '

"What do you have here?"

He hummed to Nat's question and read the English part

"Some old book" he replied

He sensed Nat reading the content over his shoulder

"Maybe you should put it back."

"You know what this is?" Clint asked

"It's Rose's. You should put it back, Clint"

"so it's magical"

"Clint..."

"what?"

"Put it back"

Clint frowned and turned to look at Nat "It's just a book. There's nothing wrong with it"

"It's a book on magic," Nat said

"I'm mundane"

Nat sighed mentally. He was right about that. Mundanes wouldn't be able to use magic even if they tried.

"What's got the love birds arguing?" Tony asked

Nat moved to look at him and it was Then Tony noticed the book in Clint's hands

"It's just a book" Clint replied, "By the way, what's _'S. Potion'_?"

"Strengthening Potion" Tony replied. Rose may not have it with her, but he had read about that certain potion from Rose's textbooks.

"Cool" Clint grinned and looked at what he expected to be the spell and started reading it

"Maybe you shouldn't do it" Steve interjected

"Relax, Steve. I'm mundane. I cannot use magic. I'm just trying to read" he shrugged and went on to read. Once he finished, nothing happened. He pulled out an arrow and started twirling in his fingers.

"See. I told you, nothing would happen" Clint grinned, closed the book, and kept it on the table. none of them noticed the glowing book until it was too late.

* * *

"Red of purple?" Rose asked, holding two dresses

"Neither" Mia answered

"She's right" Ginny came and sat next to Mia. It had become a tradition of sorts for the three of them. Every year, they'd collect at certain events to regroup and catchup. Milan Fashion Week was one of them.

"Your hair's purple-ish and red...not really" Ginny pressed her lips in a thin line "Try...black"

"I've got six dresses in black. if I didn't know better, I'd say I'm going goth" Rose complained and looked at the dress in Ginny's arm "I'm in love blue one you picked"

"Oh hell no" Ginny pulled the dresses closer to herself "I found this. Pick your own, Potter"

Rose pouted "But seriously, I need some more dresses which are not black, grey or white"

"Um..." Mia looked around the fashion house and then pulled a copper brown dress "Try this"

Rose took the dress and entered the trial room. She put on the dress and looked in the mirror. It was made of satin so it felt soft on her body. the dress hugged her body and highlighted her best parts. The best part, it didn't clash with her gradient hair

"Rosie!" Ginny called

Rose came out, showing the dress.

"Looks perfect" Mia grinned "try this"

Rose held the dress in the arms "Damn, Mia. What's with you and perfect choices today?"

"Gin chose this" Mia smiled

Rose grinned at her sister and rushed into the trial room.

The dusty pink sleeveless chiffon dress was beautiful. it had a Grecian look with a silver belt around the waist and a thigh slit. The neckline was pretty deep, showing her breast curve from top but not too much.

"So?" she asked, stepping out and looking at the two

"Approved" Ginny beamed "first I thought that the pinks might clash, but it actually looks good on you"

"Suits you, Rose" Mia smiled

"Lemme change back and then I'm buying these two"

Ten minutes later found the three girls at the checkout

"Sure you don't want to exchange your blue dress for the pink one?" Rose looked at Ginny

"Bugger off" Ginny replied, flipping her hair. She had cut off her long mane to shoulder length to help her during the matches.

Mia laughed as Rose pouted. She really loved the blue dress Ginny had brought.

"You are coming to the ministry ball, right"

"Do I have to?" Rose pouted, putting her stuff for billing

"It is in your honor" Ginny shrugged

Rose handed her card to the cashier, paying for herself. She had no issue covering the other two, but Mia and Ginny had refused her help

"She'll come" Mia chuckled, collecting her bags

Rose frowned and looked at her best friend.

"You always do, Rosie" Ginny laughed

"Yeah, whatever" Rose shrugged, picking her own bags

"Alright. I should get going" Ginny turned, placing the three bags in one hand to check her phone before putting it back

"Say hi to Lorraine for us," Mia said

"and remind her of Nimbus"

"What?" Ginny frowned

"She'll understand" Rose smiled

"alright" Ginny shrugged and left

"Ready to head London?" Mia asked

"Cant we just..you know forget about the presentation and head to the beach or something. I'd love some tan"

"And have Pepper come after your head? Rose, I love you, but not even that much to protect you from Pepper's wrath. It's just a simple presentation."

"But it's soooo boring"

"I know you play games during these" Mia said "Don't try to deny it. I've seen you play games on your phone during the presentations"

"Right. But can we go to some great dinner after the presentation?"

"Great dinner?" Mia chuckled

"Yeah. Greatest dinner."

"And where is that served?"

"You know. Burrow" Rose grinned "It's been a while since I've had Molly's hand cooked meal. I'm highly craving some"

"That is a good idea" Mia smiled

"Gre-" Rose stopped when her phone rang, which made her frown "Who'd be calling me right now?"

"Pepper, maybe. I don't know. Were you expecting someone?"

"Hmm-mm" she shook her head and pulled the phone. The caller ID said JARVIS

"JARVIS?" Mia frowned

"Something's not right" Rose muttered, a sinking feeling starting to form in her gut

"Yeah JARVIS?" she answered, keeping the phone on speaker

" _Miss, I'm afraid something is wrong with the Avengers. I've been detecting six heartbeats but something about them is different from before. I've been unable to run scans on the team. I expect magic to be at play, messing with my protocols"_

Rose and Mia shared a look. She had upgraded JARVIS to work around stable magical environments. He technically shouldn't have any issues with the scans.

"We'll be there in a few, JARVIS" Mia said

" _Alright, Ms. Granger_ "

Rose hung up "I've got a bad feeling about it"

"Me too" Mia nodded

* * *

"What the FUCK?!"

The two witches were gaping at the place that once was their communal floor. A certain wall had a big hole, bricks, and plaster hanging loosely. The TV was shattered, so was their sitting area. The bookshelf was broken and books were everywhere. Even some good part of the false ceiling was destroyed. How could they have damaged the ceiling?!

"Let's find others" Mia suggested

And they quickly found the team, just not the way they had left them, which only made Rose swear in welsh

* * *

Tony came to consciousness with a pounding headache. One of the worst he ever had. He tried using his body. For now, it seemed in one piece. Slowly he could some subtle noises which made him curious. Tony knew something was wrong somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it. He slowly opened his eyes trying to minimize the blur in his vision

"Take it easy"

He recognized that voice.

Once stable, he looked around. the room was white and pristine. and there was only one room like that

"What the hell happened?" he asked, wincing slightly as he tried to sit

"I was hoping you could explain"

Tony looked at the speaker, to find Rose (as expected) but with frown and confusion (not expected). Also, she looked bigger than himself. When did his daughter get a second puberty?

"Are you okay?" he asked

"I should be the one asking you that. What happened? Communal's destroyed. An-"

"That's not my fault!" Tony defended, only to notice something peculiar "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is my voice squeakier?"

Rose sighed and picked something at his bedside and gave it to him. it was a mirror.

"Take look for yourself"

Tony raised the mirror and almost had a heart attack. Staring back him was a young boy, not a 40-something man.

Whatever Rose was expecting from Tony, screaming in panic was not one of them. She sighed. they had a long day ahead of them

* * *

The whole team had woken up within an hour after Tony's mini heart attack and they all different reactions of being turned into children. Unlike Tony, Steve was pretty calm. Thor was cursing magic. Bruce was confused. Clint thought it was amazing and cool. Natasha was passive-aggressive.

Once they had all woken up, Mia and Rose shrunk down some of their clothes for them, gave them something to eat before making them all sit at the sitting area on Mia's floor. the Avengers didn't really look anything like their older versions.

Tony had his hair a bit longer and messier. He looked a lot less haunted from his demons and more in a smart kind of cute. Next to him, Bruce was adorable with curly dark hair and frameless glasses on his nose. Clint, the smallest of the gang was pudgy. His face had a lot of baby-fat but of course, he looked cute, very cute, maybe cutest of them all. Thor had his signature long blonde hair, his casual attire, and Mjolnir next to him. Natasha was more on the older side. Her red hair was past her shoulders and wavy and her curves were on their earliest stage but she still looked every bit of scary assassin she was. Or at least she tried to look that way. Steve was also a bit older than the others. His stature was more on the lean side than muscle but he didn't look different. His blonde hair, now a shade lighter, was styled in the same way and he looked around the room like the trained soldier he was

Okay, so maybe they did look a lot like their older versions.

"So how about you start explaining what the heck happened" Rose demanded

And at once, they all started. not only did it not make anything clear but it was adding to the witches' headaches. and Rose was first to snap

"Shut it!" Rose frowned, quieting them all "In case you didn't get the memo, neither Mia nor I speak chorus. one at a time."

"Steve" Mia calmly began "What happened?"

Steve started telling everything. Then Natasha took over.

In the end, Rose smacked her forehead loudly and ran her hand through her hair

"First and foremost. _' S. Potion'_ stands for Shrinking potion, not Strengthening potion"

"And something tells me it doesn't shrink the size" Bruce added

"We've never really tested it on humans," Mia said "But our old potions teacher used to say that with this potion, you can turn a full-grown cat into a mewling kitten. His words"

Rose snorted and every head turned to Clint

"How was I to know?!!" Clint demanded, throwing his hands up. His voice was very childlike. Had the girls' not known what had happened, Clint actually behaved like a baby.

"Since when could you read Gaelic?" Mia asked

"I don't. The book had notes in English"

"You translated it?" Mia looked at Rose

"It was when I was learning Gaelic. You should have put it back, Clint"

"But I don't get it" Tony spoke up "Katniss is mundane. How did he do the spell?"

"There's one possibility," Mia said

"They are rare, Mia"

"Yeah, but not extinct. He could be one of them, you know"

"One of what?" Clint asked

"Can you trace your family? Surnames, any particular place...anything?" Rose asked

"Uh...my mom's maiden name was Daniels. I don't know much." Clint shrugged

"Alice was last of the Stewards." Rose sighed

"Boot brothers?" Mia asked

"I think Chadwick may have."

"Uh.." Clint began "I remember my dad once saying that my some great-great-something-grandfather was named Chadwick Boot."

He noticed the widened eyes of the witches

"Why? Is it important?"

"Yes!" Rose nodded "Are you sure?"

Clint nodded

"Should I go ahead?" Mia asked, pulling out her wand

"What are you gonna do?" Clint asked

"Just want to check something" she replied and muttering an incantation, waved her wand over Clint. As a result, Clint glowed a dark blue aura

"Huh, I wasn't expecting this" Rose snorted

"Are you gonna share with the class?" Nat asked with a frown, which did not hold as much power as it did before. She looked a bit...adorable

"Right" Rose nodded "Chadwick Boot was a well known American wizard. His mother was the founder of Ilvermorny Institute of Magic."

"I come from a family of wizards?" Clint perked up

"Kind of" Rose replied

"A squib then?" Tony asked

"Squid?" Clint raised a brow

"Squib," Mia said. "Mundane kid born to magical parents. But no. He's more of a hedgewizard"

"What's that?" Steve asked

"Hedgewizard if a level above squib but below a standard wizard." Rose looked at Clint "Means you are not entirely mundane but don't have enough magic to wield wand or cast spells. Just a small pint-size amount of magic"

"So that was how he was able to cast that spell" Bruce concluded

"Hmm-mm" Rose nodded "Most spells require a decent of magic to be cast"

"But few of the spells require just a teensy bit. This was one of them. You pint-size amount of magic was able to cast the spell" Mia continued

"How long before the spell wears out?" Thor asked and everyone turned to look at Rose

"That, I'm not sure of. I never really finished the book."

"So we are stuck like this?" Clint asked

"I think you deserve it," Natasha said and smacked Clint

"Hey, no violence, kids" Rose separated the two and went back to her seat, thinking hard when she felt seven eyes on her

"What?" she asked

"Did you just call us kids?" Nat asked

Rose blinked when she realized her slipup

"You are kids" she shrugged in response, sighed burying her face in her hands. she exhaled again and ran the hands over her face

"JARVIS, are the scans ready?" Mia had

It had taken them quite a while to clear the magical discrepancies so JARVIS could function properly again

"Yes, Ms. Granger" JARVIS replied "My scans detect Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff to be 10 years of age. Dr. Banner is 9 years old, Mr. Stark is 7 years old, Agent Barton is 4 years old and Mr. Odinson being 150 years old"

Rose blinked and shared a shocked look with Mia

"How is Thor a 105 years old?" Tony asked, "He looks...7-ish"

Thor looked at Tony with a frown "I'll have you informed, Stark, that I'm well over a 1000 years old"

"You have your answer, Tony" Mia shrugged

"Okay" Rose exhaled, running her hands over her face again "Okay. Okay. I seriously need to find a cure to this whole...situation. Fury can't know. The public can't know."

"What's wrong with Fury?" Clint asked

"What do you think Fury'll do if he finds out that the Avengers have turned into kids? He'll probably stick you guys in some lab" Mia replied

"Uh..Rose" Bruce began

"yeah?"

"Your phone's ringing"

Rose looked next to her where her phone was vibrating in silent mode. She picked it up and paled. Oh, she was gonna die today.

"Who's it?" Mia asked, noticing her friend's change in behavior

"She's gonna murder me" Rose muttered

"You better pick that call then"

Rose pressed her lips in a thin and answered the call, placing it on her ear

" _Where. The. Hell. Are. You?"_

Rose winced. Yup, Pepper was gonna murder her

"At the tower" Rose replied meekly

" _At the to-..Rose you were supposed to be here at the presentation 20 minutes ago!"_

"I know!" Rose replied "But I can't"

" _What does that mean?"_

Before she could reply, Pepper resumed

" _Don't pull a Tony on me right now, Rose. I told you before. This is a $60million business deal that we need in our pockets. How could you bail at me?"_

"Pepper, something happened. Something's wrong"

" _...Are you okay? Is Tony okay? Mia? the team?"_

"Mia and I are fine. The team's fine too, kinda. Look, I can't really be there today. I'll explain when you'll get back"

" _Rose..._ " Pepper sighed at the other end

"Maybe you should go" Mia offered "I'll see what I can find and keep an eye on the mini-avengers. you go and sign that deal off"

Rose looked at Mia, hesitant and lips pressed

"Go. I'll be fine"

"'Kay" Rose nodded "Pep, I'll be there in 2 minutes." she hung up and got up and stretched.

"I'll be back asap," she said and left

Once Rose was out, Mia turned to the Avengers.

"Okay. right now, you all need rest since it's around 4 AM. Go to your rooms and try to grab some shut-eye. I'll start looking for some cure in the morning. And until you guys are tuned back to normal, there are gonna be a few rules." Mia declared and frowned when she saw Tony, Clint, Thor, and Natasha ready to protest "Not a word. You are not even teenagers physically, so don't try to act like adults. First rule, no weapons. Don't you dare, Clint. This is all your fault"

Clint huffed, very cutely for a four-year-old, and crossed his tiny arms, looking away

"Second, there's going to be a curfew for bedtime. Third, no alcohol whatsoever." here she pointed a glare towards Tony,

"Why are you looking at me?" Tony asked

Mia exhaled and then looked at everyone else "You will not leave the tower without me or Rose. or Pepper, after she returns. Fifth, no entry to the labs or training facilities." she shot a pointed look at every kid who seemed to not agree with the rules, but were smart enough to not vocally challenge her.

"That's it, for now. if Rose or I come up with a few more, then they'll be added. JARVIS, you listed all the rules?"

"Of course, Ms. Granger"

"since when does JARVIS listen to you?" Tony asked

"Ever since you got yourself de-aged. Rose gave me override codes" Mia replied "Now, everyone to bed. Now!"

The six de-aged Avengers stood up at once and started heading for their rooms

Mia sighed hard and ran her hands through her hair. Handling Avengers was one thing. but handling kid-avengers was gonna be worse. She better start finding a cure or a counter-spell.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote above in the summary is totally me. A big shout out to everyone who is giving me kudos and positive comments. Thank you, guys. This one-shot is a three-parter. I'll update the next two parts in this week only.


	15. Magical Mishap: II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Mia are stuck handling the mini-vengers only for things to get worse. Also, Mia swears to never have kids in the future, though they both know she's kidding. Or is she?

When Rose returned from the presentation and the following meeting that came out of nowhere, she was ready to crash. She totally ignored that it was about 11 AM New York time. She just wanted some shut-eye. She entered Mia's floor, making her way to the sitting area. There she found Mia, asleep on the couch, three thick books on the table in front of her with many stick up notes peeking out.

Still tired, Rose just settled next to Mia, cuddling to her a little. Unlike others, Mia and Rose had never been weird about being physically close to each other. Homosexuality may have been accepted these days, but the two witches had always been close-physically, emotionally, and mentally. Which does not mean that they slept together. Been friends for so long and being through everything, they were each others' rocks, support systems. Tony was not Rose's only anchor. Mia was her anchor too.

Rose relaxed a little more when Mia's arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer. Mia always had a tendency of being protective of Rose, no explanation needed there.

"When did you come back?" Mia asked, sleepily. her eyes were still shut but Rose knew she had woken up

"Just now" Rose replied, "Where are the kids?"

God! they sounded like a lesbian couple with a family, Rose mentally noted. Not that it would be a bad thing. If Rose swung that way, she would definitely date Mia, forget Ron and his feelings

"I sent them to bed. they are all probably sleeping. hopefully"

"I checked the labs. they were empty"

"forbid their entry in labs unless they turn back to adults" Mia murmured

"Good thing" Rose replied, suppressing a yawn

"Pep?"

"evening"

"hmm" Mia turned a little and pulled Rose a little closer

* * *

Steve was the first to wake up. He was pretty shocked when he learned that he slept a long time. It was 11.50 AM when he woke up. Getting off the bed, he walked to the mirror and checked himself. He was now something around 4.3ft. his muscles were gone but he still looked healthy, unlike before when he actually was a kid. His hair had lightened and the stiffness he earlier had was no longer there.

a rumbling sound from his stomach made him realize how hungry he was. Quickly refreshing himself, he made out of his room and headed toward Mia's, which was made their temporary rebound communal. He was soon joined by others, except Bruce who was still sleeping.

Reaching the floor, they stopped seeing the only two adults, cuddling and sleeping on the couch and the fat books in front of them

"Are you sure they don't have a thing for each other?"

Steve looked down at Clint-really looked down; he was about 3ft only-and frowned

Tony threw Clint his own glare and Nat smacked him while Thor looked a bit clueless

"Would it be a problem if that was the case?" Tony asked, arms folded

Steve secretly hoped that was not the case.

"Nope" Clint replied "Not at all"

"Isn't Lady Hermione betrothed to Rose's foster brother?" Thor asked, a bit clueless

"She is" Natasha replied "And that is why that is not the case"

"So, who's hungry?" Clint asked, changing the topic

"We cannot cook, Clint," Steve said

"And why not?" Clint pouted

"Because you don't reach even up to the countertop" Tony snorted, "I think only Thor and Steve will"

"We should wake them up, then" Thor suggested

"that would happen if you let us sleep" Rose grumbled from her place. she tiredly opened her eyes and looked at the mini-avengers "Hungry?"

"Yeah" Steve replied, a bit embarrassed

"Take a seat. I'll whip up something" Rose removed Mia's hand from around her and stood up, stretching her body. she yawned and headed for the small kitchen on Mia's floor. In fact, all their floors had a kitchen, which wasn't as big as the one on the communal.

She pulled her hair into a bun which turned out very messy but kept the hair away from her face. Rose heated a pan and started mixing pancake batter while making strong coffee for herself and Mia. She stopped when she saw Tony standing in front of the machine in anticipation

"Dad?" she asked as he looked at her. It felt wrong and awkward to call him 'dad'. A de-aged Tony looked scarily similar to Teddy, which already freaked her out. Now she knew where her son got most of his looks from. Whatever was different in Teddy, came from his father.

"I want coffee" Tony replied

"No" Rose shook her head "No caffeine"

"But-"

"No 'but', dad. Physically you are 7. I'm not taking any risk. No coffee until you go back, okay. That goes for all of you" she looked at the rest of the team

"But... I want coffee. I need coffee!" Tony whined and Rose froze. Why did that sound eerily like an actual 7-year-old instead of a 44 years old man turned 7?

"Hot chocolate?" Mia asked, entering the kitchen

Tony looked at her with big doe eyes, lips pouting a little before he nodded

"Why don't you sit down?" Mia smiled. Tony nodded and sat down.

"Anyone else wants hot chocolate?"

Every hand went up

Rose was serving breakfast when she saw someone at the doorway. She looked up and smiled at Bruce, telling him to take a seat, when the first nuclear bomb was dropped on them

"Uh..." his eyes darted around nervously "but who are you? where am I?"

Seven pairs of eyes widened and looked at the deaged scientist. Some mouths were opened in shock. Tony's fork fell down.

"Bruce?" Rose softly began nearing towards him with cautioned steps. Though Mia and she had ruled out the possibility of the team still having powers, since none of them showed any signs of such, she'd really hate to confront a mini-uncontrollable Hulk at the moment

"How do you know my name?"

Rose crouched and raised her arms in a placating manner

"My name is Rose. And I know your name because we are friends"

"I don't remember you" Bruce noted

"Because you had an accident recently. You suffered from a nasty concussion. That's why."

"Where are my parents?" he asked, on the verge of entering his flight or fight mode

Rose shared a panicked look with Mia then looked back at Bruce

"Why don't you come with me and I'll answer all your questions?"

Bruce looked hesitant but nodded and Rose took him to the nearest room. He asked questions and she tried to answer them to her best. In the end, he mostly believed her and agreed to trust her. When the two returned, Mia handed him the breakfast. Rest of the team had finished and was now occupying the sitting area while Mia stayed with Bruce, talking to him

"Are we all gonna lose our memories?" Steve asked

"I guess that's one effect of the spell" Rose deadpanned

"But how did he lose them first?" Tony frowned

"Steve and Nat have serums, Thor's Asgardian, Clint's a hedgewizard and you've lived with me long enough to be resistant to a lot of magical anomalies. Bruce had none them." Rose frowned "Any of you could be next"

* * *

Unfortunately, the second nuclear bomb exploded quite soon and it appeared that Bruce was like the catalyst. Within the next 3 hours, all the Avengers lost their adult memories one by one. It was a bitch to explain every single of them why they ended up with two young women and a bunch of other unknown kids without any memory of how they ended there without their parents or guardians.

Tony had threatened to call the police on them. Rose didn't blame him. Tony had an experience of getting abducted since he was a kid. But it was hard to convince Tony that he was not abducted but was willingly living with them.

Thor almost called Heimdall but Mia managed to talk him out of it. The last thing they wanted was a pissed-off Odin or Frigga on them. That would really crush Rose's first impression on the Norse Goddess of Magic

Steve took the news, heard them out completely and with the visible proof, believed them, but remained skeptical. It didn't matter much to Clint. He was still a baby.

Nat almost knocked Mia before Rose subdued her and explained to that it as not a prank, she was not in Red Room anymore and she wasn't forcibly taken either. Basically their half-truth was something among the lines of

"Look, we know you. And you all know each other and us. Recently there was an accident and as a result, all six of you have retrograde amnesia" Rose explained

"Retro-whatchamacallit-sia?" Tony asked

"Memory loss" Mia continued "You have forgotten a bit of the past. And since you knew all of us, we decided to let you stay here until you get your memory back. Capiche?"

And then started the questions and doubts, which only increased the witches' resident headaches.

If anyone ever asked, the two witches would readily deny using a bit of magic on the kids for convincing them that they were not a threat and for the last time-no, they were not kidnapped

After hours of work, the six Minivengers(as Rose and Mia had taken to call them) were settled on the sitting area with some random movie playing on the TV

"We need to find a cure, fast" Mia said, eating their breakfast-turned-brunch

"Yeah" Rose nodded, "I think the worse is yet to come. Pepper"

"You didn't tell her?" Mia raised a brow

"Didn't get a chance" Rose took a sip of the coffee "She's gonna freak out when she'll return later today"

"Then Pepper's your responsibility"

Rose pouted but didn't argue.

Shouting from the background grabbed their attention. Turning around the two found Thor, Tony, and Steve in an argument

"what the fu-" Rose started but Mia elbowed her "-ish!"

"What's going on?" Mia demanded "Boys!"

"I want to watch a science show!" Tony cried

"We all are watching the Discovery channel. What's your problem, Tony?!"

"I'm the Son of Odin. You shall give me the contraption at on-"

"It's called a remote, you idiot!"

"Your turn?" Rose looked at Mia with a pleading look. Mia sighed, got up, and made her way to the Minivengers. Rose had no idea what happened but whatever did, they all settled down silently

"What did you do?" Rose asked when Mia returned

"Gave the remote to Nat. Even at this age, she freaks the hell out of the boys"

Rose looked over her shoulder at the team. Nat was sitting in the middle, Clint pressed next to her and remote on the other hand. None of the boys dared argue or fight over the remote. If anyone tried, Nat shot them a dirty look and they'd shut up

"Guess some things never change" Rose chuckled then looked back at Mia, who was frowning tiredly "Hey, look at it this way. You get to practice for when you'll have your own kids"

"I swear" Mia sighed "After this experience, I'm not having kids. Never. Do you hear me? NEVER!"

Rose laughed "What about Ron?"

"Call and ask him to babysit these rascals for a few hours. He'll have the same opinion"

Rose chuckled. She was glad to have a son she wouldn't trade for anything else in the world. And she was also glad that Teddy grew up around Andy and was less 'rascal' and more of a behaved troublemaker, however that worked

* * *

After the brunch, the two girls set up to find a cure. Rose decided to finish the book that started the problem, mainly to see if there were gonna be any more effects other than de-aging and memory loss and to see a counterspell. Mia was going through other equally old books for similar stuff.

A few hours later Rose and Mia sent the kids to their rooms to shower and change. Rose offered to help Clint, but he refused stating he was a big boy and could take a bath himself. Reminded her so much of Teddy. But Rose deduced that his denial had to do more with the fact that she was a woman he didn't know and was shy. Steve must have sensed the same because he stepped in, offering to help Clint should he need.

Once the kids left, Rose and Mia took a breath of relief before getting back to research.

"Rose?" Mia asked, closing the book

"Yeah, I got something" Rose nodded, showing the Gaelic page to her

"Unha vez emitido o feitizo, o suxeito volverá á idade orixinal dentro dos sete días siderais" Mia read

"Yeah. One sidereal day is 23 hours and 56 minutes. 7 sidereal days, a week. They are stuck like this for a whole week before the spell wears off and they are turned back to normal"

"So for a whole week, we are on babysitting duty of the Avengers?" Mia complained

"Tell me about it" Rose muttered

* * *

When Pepper entered the lift, as of habit, she pressed the button to the communal and waited

"I'm sorry Ms. Potts but Miss has forbidden entry to the communal floor until further notice"

"Did she say why?" Pepper frowned

No answer

So Pepper pressed for Rose's floor.

Having known Rose for almost 15 years and seen her through every high and low of her life, Pepper considered herself pretty informative and understanding of her young boss' life. Personally, she always expected the unexpected with Rose. She was a witch, one of the strongest there were and tended to make impossibles a joke.

But she did not expect to see what she saw when she entered Rose's floor. Rose was on the couch, StarkTab on her hands as she was steadily talking to two young boys. The third, smallest kid, who was playing with Legos on the carpet, looked about 3-4 years old. What the hell had happened?

* * *

Rose and Mia had decided to distribute the kids so to reduce the pressure. Rose quickly chose Tony, Bruce, and Clint. Mia was left with Nat, Steve, and Thor. With the partition, Mia took the kids down to the art studio, the Starks had built for Steve, to keep them occupied but not before mouthing some colorful swears towards her, to which she laughed. Rose got the tamest three-her father, pseudo uncle, and pseudo big brother-while she got a veteran soldier, a professional assassin, and a Norse god. How was it any fair?

Rose herself took the 'Science Bros' to her floor to discuss some basic science theories while giving Clint a box of Legos to play with. Clint was settled on the carpet trying to build something while the older two boys somehow managed to keep up with her science rant. Then she noticed Pepper and froze. Shite!

Seeing her attention somewhere else and not on him, Tony pouted, got up and started jumping on her expensive Italian sofa

"Ro-sie! Look-at-me! I-was-talking!" he exclaimed between each jump

"Maybe you should sit down Tony" Bruce suggested

"Tony?" Pepper asked softly

Tony turned around and spotted the strawberry-blonde

"You are very pretty," he said with a 'charming' smile "Who are you?"

Rose blinked twice. Was her father always like that? Scratch that, bigger question-Was a 7-year-old supposed to be flirting?

Pepper sputtered and gaped at Tony then at Rose

"I can explain," Rose said, quickly standing up. She handed the tab to Bruce and led Pepper to the minibar on her floor, pouring them a drink before she started explaining everything. By the end of it, Pepper didn't know whether to cry, laugh or strangle Clint with her bare hands. She settled on pouring herself another stiff drink, gulped it in one swift motion and then shook her head

"One week?" Pepper asked. Rose nodded

"Okay. I can handle it for a week."

"Thanks, Pepper" Rose smiled and hugged her PA, making the redhead laugh

"Just remember that once they go adult, Clint's gonna be in trouble"

"I'll let him know" Rose smiled and pulled

Pepper nodded "I'm calling it a night" she placed a kiss on Rose's forehead and looked at the boys

"Good night boys"

"Good Night" Tony beamed. She smiled before using the stairs to walk to her room

"Who was she?" Tony asked, no demanded, when Rose made her way back to the sofa

"That's Pepper. She's my best friend and Personal Assistant"

Tony pouted "Why is she named after a spice?"

"We thought Mia was your best friend" Bruce added

Rose looked at Tony with a smile "That you gotta ask her yourself." then she turned to Bruce "You can have more than one best friend, you know"

"Really?"

Rose nodded, then pulled the tab "So, got any more suggestions?"

* * *

Mia was taking the three to the art room when she realized something. She was well aware of Steve's passion for art-they all were-and that he had drawn the team on numerous occasions. And if one of them saw those drawings and made connections, it would be bad. So she quickly asked JARVIS to guide the three to the art room and excused herself for some personal matter. Once out of their sight, she apparated to the art room and hid all the paintings of the team and left the ones which were about landscapes and in general.

Then she left before the kids could enter and then appeared behind them

"You found it. I was a bit worried you might get lost"

"JARVIS helped" Steve smiled softly. It had really taken quite a bit to ask all the kids to call by their names without any salutations

"Great. So, art? Steve, I've heard you can draw really well" she said

"It's nothing" Steve replied, rubbing the back of his neck and bit embarrassed

"So modest" Mia chuckled "So this is the tower's art room. Go wild" she grinned

the three entered the room and looked around. The room was the most colorful in the tower and had to be every artist's dream. Everything ranging from different papers and drawing sheets to every type of paint, crayons, pencil, and brushes were there. Like everything.

"They are amazing" Steve sounded a bit overwhelmed "and expensive. Are you sure we can use them?"

"Positive" Mia smiled "I promise Rose won't mind."

So three of them took sheets and started making whatever they were feeling like. Mia took a seat in the sidelines, pulled out her StarkTab, and started working on a report. No matter how much they hated, they had to tell Fury about the accident. And since out of the two, Mia had more tact and patience in dealing with people, she was to be one to tell Fury. After all, she was their handler, right.

"Lady Mia!"

Mia looked up from the tab and at the Norse God who was showing her his painting. It was of some animal, something she had never seen before on either side of the world. It was huge, had big antlers and remotely resembled a buck

"What have you drawn, Thor?" she asked, a bit confused

"Bilchteim!" Thor grinned

"What?" Mia blinked and Thor visibly deflated

"A Bilchteim. They are huge, scaly, big antlers and crush everything in their path" Thor explained

"Never heard of them" Nat offhandedly remarked

"they are not on Midgard?" Thor asked in confusion

"Not really, no" Mia shook her head "But you are a good artist"

"Thank you, milady"

Mia smiled

"Pardon me, Lady Mia, but I need some sustenance"

"Uh...right" Mia stood up. She had forgotten that Thor had one of the two biggest appetites on the team and was constantly hungry

"You guys need anything?" she asked

"We are good" Nat replied

"Me too" Steve smiled

"Alright, you two," she looked at Nat and Steve "try not to make a mess"

The two nodded and went back to their drawing.

In the kitchen, she whipped some previous night's leftover, reheated them, and handed it to Thor, who started eating with vigor. She sighed. She was tired of dealing with the kids and wanted a small break. So did Rose.

She inhaled sharply and then exhaled. Why was it her who was always dragged into such...situations?

* * *

At night, Rose ordered dinner from outside. She was in no shape or form to cook. Keeping up with two super-intelligent kids was taking a toll on her. Not to mention the third one who would always start crying should his Lego building break down after going 18 blocks. She was irritated, tired, and wanted to sleep in her heavenly bed and not woken up. How in the hell was she going to make it past a whole week?

Mia curled next to her as the girls' watched Frozen (Nat and Clint's recent obsession) with the whole team around them eating pizzas. Pepper had just appeared for a glimpse, picked a box, and took it to her room, saying she had some PA work to do.

This was the third time Frozen was running on repeat and by now Tony and Thor had gotten a hang of "Let it Go" and sung it at every single presented occasion with Clint joining in, singing in his cute baby voice and broken lyrics. Leave it to Disney to write songs so catchy that it would have a better part of Avengers addicted to them.

Once dinner was done, the girls ushered the kids to their rooms, made sure they changed into PJs, brushed, and then tucked them in bed. While Mia went to sleep in her room, Rose took the projects she was supposed to be working on and resumed working. Everything aside, she was still the CEO of Stark Industries and a company so big won't run itself

* * *

Rose was finally having a bit of free time. Mia had left for the SHIELD HQ to deal with Fury and his tantrums. Steve had grown fond of the art room. So Rose made him get stuff from there and work at Mia's floor. She really didn't want to risk any kid away from her eyes.

Nat and Thor were with Clint, helping him with Legos, in front of her on the carpet. Despite the de-aging and memory loss, Nat had remained close to Clint. Had to be something in her subconsciousness.

Once Rose showed them how to work the latest StarkTab, Bruce and Tony had gotten a hang of it. Now they were designing something. Rose had no problem with that, as long as they didn't build a Skynet or homicidal robot.

Rose looked from her own tab when she heard the elevator open and Brittany stepped out, crisply dressed. Honestly, Brittany was turning more and more into a second Pepper with her work attitude, attire, and the ways she dealt with Rose.

"Morning, Brit" Rose smiled

"Good Morning, mam" Brittany smiled

"Come on, take a seat" Rose scooted a little and let Brittany sit down. Pepper had reminded that the paperwork for that London business deal was still pending along with some new patents that the R&D wanted to file that needed her signatures. And knowing the situation, Pepper had asked Brittany to go upstairs and get them signed

Brittany handed the papers to her boss and maintained a professional attitude. Rose internally smirked. If Brittany noticed the sudden appearance of kids, she didn't mention it

"Accidental magic" Rose muttered

"I didn't know that the team had anyone magical," Brittany asked. She knew it couldn't have been either of the witches since they had excellent control of their magic.

"Neither did we. Turns out Hawkeye is a hedgewizard" Rose snorted

"Huh" Brittany muttered, "so how long before they go back to...normal?"

"uh...4 more days" Rose replied, flipping the page as she read the content "What happened to the leftover budget from R&D?"

"Right now it's there. But I was going to put it in M.S.F.'s funds"

"Don't. Put it in Expo's expenses. I heard that Viastone is making a presentation this spring?"

"they are" Brittany nodded "Ms. Potts wasn't really happy about it"

"Neither am I." Rose exhaled "What's with all our competitors showing off at our show?"

"Our show's the only one in town. And believe it or not, mam, it's quite popular"

Rose chuckled

"Rosie!" Clint called

Rose looked up from the papers at the 4-year-old who was beaming at her. Thor and Nat looked quite proud beside him. Surprisingly, only Clint and Tony called her 'Rosie'.

The current reason for all smiles and rainbows, the Lego building was not only huge but looked like Avengers Tower made out of Lego. It explained why the three were so engrossed and dedicated to building it

"It's amazing" Rose nodded. It really was too good for kids their age. But then again, they were not really kids, were they?

And then their attention turned towards Brittany, looking at her in anticipation.

"Uh...it's beautiful. Great job" Brittany smiled shyly

"Thank you, fair maidens" Thor grinned

And suddenly Clint pouted

"What's wrong, Clint?"

Clint looked at her, almost tearing "Legos are finished."

"I'm sure we can make something from the remaining ones" Nat tried "Like a hut or...a boat"

Clint shook his head, wiping his nose on his shirt's sleeve before picking up the Lego pamphlet and pointing at a big yellow castle

"I want this" he sniffed

"Oh Merlin" Rose tiredly rolled her eyes "Not again"

"This happened before?" Brittany asked, trying not to sound amused. Really. An employee should not be amused at her boss' problem. but she was failing miserably

"In the morning, Clint made a fuss about how there aren't enough blue and grey Legos. So I transfigured them. Now he needs yellow" Rose complained before looking up at the ceiling "do we have anymore Legos, J?"

"There is another box in the storage, Ms"

"I'll get it" Nat got up and left, JARVIS giving her the directions

"I don't know why we even have so much Lego" Rose grumbled, going back to the paperwork

It must have been just 5 minutes roughly before she felt someone poke her knee. Suppressing a groan, she looked up at the Science Bros

"Yeah?" she asked, as softly as she could. Well, she couldn't take her anger out on the kids whatever might be the reason. None of it was their fault. The adult them? definitely, though

"We got stuck." Tony extended the tablet towards Rose which had a complex mathematical equation on it. Complex for others, not her.

Rose placed the paperwork aside, shooting Brittany an apologetic smile, before taking the tab and looking at the equation.

"Is this Mr. Stark?" She heard Brittany whisper to her, to which she nodded

"Mr. Stark is my dad. You know my dad?" Tony asked the blonde PA, not noticing how Rose had paled

"Kind of" Brittany nervously smiled. She was one of the few who were aware that Howard Stark's name was a taboo in the current Stark household, Pepper had told her. She perispherically noticed her boss, going through that Maths equation, pale and a bit panicked by the sudden turn of events

"Really? How?"

Let it be said that Starks were way too curious for their own good.

"I...work for Stark Industries" Brittany managed

"Ooh" Tony took in then looked at Rose "Do you work for Stark Industries, too?"

"I do, Tony" Rose deadpanned, correcting the equation

"Then do you know dad?" Tony demanded eagerly

_Don't snap. Don't. Control, Rose. He doesn't remember. He doesn't know. Keep calm. Deep breath. Don't snap at Tony. He's your father._

Rose hated her grandfather as much as Tony, if not more. She had a pretty good reason for it.

Rose finally managed to solve the equation and all but threw the tab towards Bruce "Here, I solved it"

"Thanks" Bruce shyly said

"Tell me, Rosie! Do you know my dad?!"

Rose was really trying to keep calm. Bruce must have noticed her efforts because he quickly pulled Tony away

"She's busy, Tony. Let's not disturb her"

"B-But.."

"Come on" Bruce guided him back to their previous spot

Rose took a few long deep breaths as she calmed down

"I'm sorry" she muttered, running her hands over her face

"It's just stress" Brittany replied "I understand"

"Thanks, Brittany. No really, thank you" Rose sighed and went back to signing the papers

Once done, she handed everything to Brittany, who stood up

"If I may, Mam, try taking them out for a day. To the park or something. It should help you and Ms. Granger with the stress"

Rose nodded with a smile as her PA left. Just then Nat entered with a box of unopened Lego set on the floor next to her two friends.

Thank god, Merlin, and every single deity. The kids were not making a mess at the moment. And she needed a few minutes to compose herself. She noticed Steve, sitting by the huge windows, smiling to himself in what looked like pride

"Hey, what are you smiling at, Steve?" Rose approached Steve with a smile

Steve, still a bit shy but no as much as before, flipped over the sketchpad and showed her a drawing of Elsa.

"It's gorgeous, Steve" Rose grinned "Really good."

"Thanks"

"Mention not, kid" Rose reached and ruffled his hair. She stood up and walked to the Science Bros

"How's it coming?"

But sometimes, headaches were worth it, especially when it comes to family.

* * *

By the time Mia returned, it was past the kids' bedtime and they had all returned to bed. Pepper was sleeping in her room. Rose was sitting on Mia's floor, going flipping through the channels

"Fury held you out long enough" Rose looked at Mia, as she came to sit next to her

"He's pissed" Mia noted

"On who?" Rose asked, finally settling on some 60's action movie. She wasn't really paying any attention to it anyway

"The whole situation" Mia sighed

"That makes two of us" Rose added earning a weird look from Mia

"I'm just...pissed. Not on the kids, not on the team, not on us, just pissed in general"

Mia snorted

"Anyway, Fury said he'd cover our arses should anything arise but if it turned out to be Avenger level threat, you and Rhodey have to do the whole team's work."

"Just me and Rhodey?" Rose frowned

"He might call the Fantastic 4 but he's not sure who all will respond"

"Sue won't. She swore she was done with the whole superhero business" Rose grumbled "Johnny definitely will. he won't miss a chance to flirt with me. Not sure on Ben and Reed"

Mia scoffed "You know, I kinda miss the days when our biggest headache was our DADA teacher trying a move against your or some lackey of Voldemort's trying to off you"

Rose snorted "Kids are worse than Voldemort?"

"Super-powered kids are worse than Voldemort"

Turned out, they did have their powers. Steve had accidentally lifted the whole couch to take out Clint's Lego piece which had gotten under it. When Thor when got in an argument with Bruce, Rose was pretty sure that she saw a tinge of green on Bruce's neck before a bolt of lightning hit near them and she rushed to calm Bruce. Nat still had her killer reflexes. All in a single day. And she had informed Mia immediately about them.

"Brit suggested that we should take them out on a picnic or something."

"tomorrow" Mia nodded

"I agree" Rose smiled before she turned the TV off, conjured a blanket over them both and went to sleep

* * *

Rose's sleep was broken when she felt something move against her body. The movement stopped soon before something pressed against her stomach and chest. Rose slowly opened her eyes and noticed the small bump under the blanket right next to her.

Rose slowly lifted the blanket and a pair of warm brown eyes stared back at her

"Bad dream?" she asked tiredly

Tony nodded. Rose gave him a soft smile and wrapping an around him, pulled him a bit closer, and closed her eyes. He wriggled a little and came closer to her face

"Can I ask you something?" he whispered

"Hmm-mm" Rose hummed

"Were you mad at me? In the morning?"

Rose frowned

"What made you ask that, Tony?"

"It's just...you didn't seem happy when I asked about Dad. Brucie said you were trying not to be mad at me for asking about Dad."

Rose sighed. So Bruce did notice

"Dad always got mad if I asked too many questions. He would say that I'm Stark and I should know the answers, not the questions"

That sounded like something Howard would say, alright. That arse.

Rose opened her eyes and looked at Tony with the look she reserved solely for Teddy

"I was not mad at you, Tony. I was mad at your father" she explained

"Why?"

Rose paused. Should she tell him the truth or half-truth?

"Because I don't like your father. Some while ago he did something that I and my dad didn't like."

Tony nodded softly "I understand. Jarvis once told me that Dad's job made a lot of people unhappy"

Rose's chest tightened. This was the third time Tony had mentioned Jarvis. She never met the man personally-he had died when she was a baby- but she knew that Jarvis was Tony's Sirius. Just a tad bit better and stuck longer with her father.

"that's right, kid" Rose nodded

"Did dad make you mad?"

"somewhat"

"Did I make you mad?"

Rose smiled and kissed his forehead "I could never be mad at you, Anthony"

And that was the truth. Despite all of her father's shenanigans, she could never stay mad at him for more than a few hours.

Tony just grinned at her and snuggled closer "I really like you, Rose. You are sweet and beautiful and caring. Just like Jarvis and Anna. And Mia too. Can I stay here forever?"

Rose lightly laughed "Sure you can"

Tony stuck close to her body if that was possible "'Night" he sleepily said

"Good night, dad" Rose smiled at her father snuggling to her 

This was not the first time this had happened. Only 16 years ago, it was Tony who was chasing her nightmares away

"Job well done" she heard Mia mutter next to her

Rose smiled and closed her eyes, going back to sleep

* * *

Mia woke up to something poking her cheek.

"What?" she groggily muttered and turned away. But the poking continued. Mia slowly opened her eyes and looked at her BFF, who was contently sleeping with Tony latching to her like an octopus, her pink hair spread across the sofa with a little bit on Tony as well.

With a mild groan, Mia turned and looked at the culprit-Natasha

"What's it, Nat?"

"I'm hungry" Nat replied, "You said not to make anything by my own"

Another rule Rose had added when she found Thor trying to cook and almost burned their kitchen down

"Are you bonkers?" Mia muttered and picked her phone from next to her, squinting to see the screen "It's 5 AM, Nat. Go back to sleep"

"But I'm hungry" Nat complained "I don't want to wake Rose and Tony. He gets whiney"

"Ugh" Mia got up, pushed over the covers, and made her way to the kitchen. She pulled out a box of cereals, milk carton, a bowl, spoon and placed them on the kitchen island

"Anything else?" Mia asked. She became a little more awake when she noticed Natasha press her lips together

"Nat?" she asked, sitting next to the Black Widow

"Were to telling truth? Am I never going back to the Red Room?"

"of course we were. You can stay here as long as you want, darling"

"But...how did I get here? Why don't I remember anything?"

"I'm sorry I can't answer all your questions right now, Natasha"

"Natasha?"

Mia blinked in confusion. And then it hit her.

"I'm sorry. Natalia. It was just a slip-up. But as I said, I'm sorry I can't tell you everything. Rest assured, Rose and I are gonna be there for you whenever you'd need us"

"Thank you" Nat shyly smiled

"What are friends for?"

Nat chuckled

"So any particular reason you were asking for an early morning snack?"

Nat shrugged "I just woke up a little hungry"

Mia nodded, pouring some cereal in the bowl while Nat opened the milk carton

"Hey, Mia?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there a possibility that I can train somewhere?"

"Train?" Mia frowned

Nat slightly shuffled

"You know..."

"Physical training? like fighting and all?"

Nat nodded

"Mmm...well, there's a gym in the building"

Nat perked up at the mention

"But I'll only take you there if you kept it a secret from others"

"Even Rose?"

"Uh..maybe not. JARVIS will tell her anyway. I meant the kids."

"You don't others to come?"

"Not everyone knows what you do, Natalia"

Nat giggled. Mia chuckled. It was the first time she had heard the assassin giggle. It was cute

"Can we go now?" Nat asked, eagerly

Mia looked at her, took a deep breath and nodded with a smile

"Finish it up, change out of your PJs and we'll head to the training facility"

"Okay" Nat nodded, quickly ate her early morning snack and rushed to her room

"Hey, no running in the house!" Mia called after her

"Sorry!"

Mia walked back to the couch and sat down, took out her wand and changed her clothes to ones more appropriate for the gym with a spell

"Want me to come with you?"

Mia looked at Rose, who was looking at her with sleepy eyes

"Let me have some friends on the team, will you?"

Rose chuckled, straightening up

"When did Tony get here?"

"2.30-ish" Rose replied "Take her to the one on 84th floor. That's most kid-friendly we have without all the weapons and fatal stuff"

"Do I even want to ask why you have a kid-friendly training facility?"

Rose gave Mia a smug smile "Just in case anyone had a mood for bring-your-child-to-work day"

Mia raised a brow. As their handler, she was told of Barton's secret

"I'm ready"

The two girls looked ahead and found Nat, dressed in some sports capris, sports shoes a tank top and her hair in a pony

"Let's go" Mia stood up

"Have fun" Rose lazily called and once they left settled back in the comforters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the de-aged Avengers. Definitely gonna have a third part which will be there within a couple of days, most probably.
> 
> Reviews help me with the kinks in the story and give me some great ideas. So Review!


	16. Magical Mishap: III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last couple of days remained before the team is turned back to normal. Easy-peasy. But nothing is never simple of the resident witches, is it?
> 
> "Fuck you DOOM! FUCK YOU!........Get outta here Johnny"  
> -an internally-pissed Rose's thoughts

The next day was spent at tower only. Rose, Pepper, and Brittany finalized the London deal. Mia was stuck with the paperwork and the hard time Fury was giving her. So mostly the two girls remained busy while JARVIS was heavy on babysitting duty. Steve, being every inch of leader he was at the beginning, stepped up whenever needed. Nat already freaked out the boys with her cold exterior, so was a great babysitter. There wasn't much to worry about them, anyway. By the night, the three women retired to Mia's floor.

They found the whole gang on the couch watching something on the TV

"What are you watching?" Rose smiled, sitting between Steve and Tony.

"Croods!" Tony grinned, moving up her lap, while she wrapped her one arm around Tony's midsection

"Croods, huh?" Rose smiled

"Rosie?" Clint poked her arm

"Yeah, baby?"

" 'm hungy" Clint said

"Mia and Pepper are getting food"

Mia had picked up some take-out for everyone. She and Pepper reheated everything and then brought it to them. It was quite hard to get Clint to eat and not play with his food. Rose managed it, using every strand of patience in her body, which got laugh out of Pepper and Mia

"Teddy?" Pepper asked

Rose nodded "My kid's way more hyper-active"

"He's your kid" Mia added, earning a scowl from Rose

Once they had all done, the three women sent the kids to their rooms. Pepper offered to tuck Tony, who had accidentally gotten high on sugar after he ate some of the sweets Rose had gotten for herself to deal with her period cramps. She had the worst luck in the world. Mia took Nat and Thor to tuck, while Rose took the other three. Clint, who got cuter with every day passing, fell asleep on his way to his room causing Rose to carry him all the way up. Once the kids were settled, The three women went to bed to grab much-required sleep

* * *

Following day, as per Brittany's suggestion, the girls decided to take the kids to Central Park.

Rose made sure they all wore the trinkets she had charmed for them. And that Thor left his hammer at home, which was a task at itself.

For once, the kids were enjoying their time outside the tower. Rose firmly held Clint's hand all the way while the rest of the gang walked in front of them. They'd stop at certain places at times to look at the displays of the shop. The whole team, especially Nat and Steve, were awed. Not that the girls blamed them or anything. They remembered their childhood, so the latest they remembered were 80s or early 90s or early 20th century.

They had just passed an antique shop when,

"Rose?" someone called from behind them

The two women stopped and turned around to see who called her. It was Claire Greene, younger sister of the head of MACUSA-Connor Greene.

Rose faked one of her best smiles. She particularly never liked Claire. Reminded her too much of a female brattier version of teenage Draco Malfoy. She had bleach blonde hair and deep grey eyes, contrast to Draco's light grey eyes. Rose had even asked her once if she knew Draco, but Claire had denied. While after the war, Draco had matured up, Claire was...Claire.

"Tell me that's not Malfoy with a wig" Mia whispered to her, having her to swallow a snicker

"Hi Claire" Rose smiled as Claire made her way to the girls. Mia snickered when Claire gave Rose a forceful hug and the billionaire squirmed uncomfortably.

"Oh my god! It's been ages since I've last seen you. And damn! new haircut? I personally liked you without the bangs"

Rose maintained her plastic posture "Well...." she shrugged

Mia tried not to wince at the shrill voice

"And who are you?"

Mia frowned when she saw Claire check her out head to toe. And then her eyes narrowed at the silent judgment. Sure she didn't wear designer clothes like Claire was wearing at the moment-wrap top, mini skirt, high heeled ankle boots, and heavy makeup- but she was well off, thank you

"Hermione Granger" Mia responded, extending her hand

Recognition sparked in Claire's eyes

"Ah" she shook hands with her "You are like Rose's sidekick or something, right?"

Mia frowned and looked at Rose. _Sidekick?_ she mouthed

Rose shrugged apologetically, before looking at Claire "Actually she's more of my best friend"

Claire's eyes went over Mia once more before she looked back at Rose

"So, Connor just brought me a new necklace from Tiffany. Can you believe it? Isn't he like the best brother in the world or what?" Claire started "and the-"

"How's Kyle?" Rose asked, instead

"Oh I broke up with him" Claire shrugged like it meant nothing

"What happened?" Rose asked, trying to keep herself as detached from the conversation as she could

"He brought me an Aston Martin for my birthday"

"That's nice" Mia commented. She knew how costly that car was. And for some reason, Claire sounded like complaining.

Claire's eyes zeroed on her again in silent judgment. Really, right now, Mia would give anything to get rid of Claire Greene.

"No wonder you don't have a good taste" she muttered to herself but Mia heard it anyway. Rose did too, by the murderous glare she was sending Claire, to which the blonde was oblivious too. Her attention went back to Rose

"I asked for a Lambo. A Lambo! Even a Ferrari would have done it. But no, he had to get me an Aston Martin!"

Mia wanted to smack herself. In the back of her mind, she made a note to have Malfoy and Greene have a DNA test, just in case.

"And if that wasn't enough embarrassment , he had to as-"

"Rosie?" Clint called, pulling her arm. Claire's eyes zeroed on Clint, for interrupting her. Noticing the unknown woman, Clint slightly hid behind Rose, who stepped in front of him

"Hi, there" Claire crouched with _the_ fakest smile both the girls had seen.

"Hi" Clint shyly spoke

"Awwww! He's tots adorbs. Who's he?" she looked at the girls

"My nephew," Rose said without any hesitation. It was not unknown that she had five older brothers and a sister.

Mia rolled her eyes at Claire's attempt to talk to Clint, in which she was failing spectacularly and looked at Rose

"I'll see the kids" she whispered. Rose nodded and Mia turned to find the rest of the gang...missing

"Shite" she muttered and sparing Rose ad Clint a quick glance went to look for the boys and Nat.

"He's shy" Rose sternly said

"Oh" Claire stood up and looked back at Rose "So, are you coming to this weekend's charity gala. I've heard tha-"

"I appreciate it, Claire, but right now I'm busy with my best friend and nephew. Now if you'll excuse me"

Claire blinked once "uh..sure. I'll see you at the gala" with that she turned and left

"Who's she?" Clint asked "she sounded mean"

"Nobody" Rose replied with a smile and turned around to stop. Mia was frowning and in front of her were four boys and Nat. To her confusion, Thor was holding half of Steve's weight, who was limping, and Nat supported a lip cut and a small bruise under her left eye

"What happened?" Rose demanded, chill running down her spine. none of the kids answered, but supported guilty looks

"Go on" Mia probed but no reply "They got in a fight" Mia folded her arms

Rose exhaled loudly and led Steve and Nat to a nearby bench

"Let me see" she muttered. Steve shyly showed her the injuries. In the end, Rose determined a sprained ankle, which had the possibility of being broken, a ligament tear in the right forearm, and a bruised rib. Nat's injuries were only visible ones.

"I don't think he can walk like this" Rose muttered

"But I wanna go to the park!" Clint whined

"I'm sorry Clint" Steve looked at Clint apologetically.

"I never said we can't go to the park" Rose smiled at the youngest Avenger. She turned back and offered her back to Steve

"Hop on, kiddo"

Steve hesitated

"Steve" Rose looked over her shoulder "Get on"

With a little help from Thor, Steve got on her back. Rose stood up, hooking her arms under Steve's legs. She frowned realizing that despite the serum, Steve felt a little less than kids his age should. Once settled, Rose got hold of Clint's hand

"To the park!" she grinned at the gang

* * *

Once they made it to the park, Mia spread the blanket under a tree and settled down. Tony, Clint, Thor, and Bruce ran off to play with strict instructions to not go far. Mia pulled her wand to heal Nat's injuries while Rose worked on Steve

Nat was done quicker and she left to play with the boys, pulling Mia with her. Rose was still working on Steve's injuries. Healing magic was something both of them had learned during the war, which came handy till this day

"Why did you get in the fight?" she asked finally. She knew that Steve had a penchant for trouble. That was how he became friends with Bucky in the first place.

Steve found the grass much more interesting

"Steve" Rose prodded, "I asked something"

Steve muttered something incoherent

"Repeat that, but louder, young man" Rose narrowed her eyes

"They picked on Tony and Bruce. Called them some bad names. I don't like bullies"

Rose's lips stretched in a small smile "Standing up to your friends is a very brave act, buddy. Never be ashamed of standing up to your friends." she dropped her voice a little "I hope you gave them at least a black eye"

Steve's eyes widened at her "You are not mad?"

"Of course not" Rose laughed "Don't tell Mia, but I'm not mad at all. I'm more thankful for standing your ground. So, tell me, Steve, did you give them a black eye?"

"Nat did. I punched one of them in the face"

"Good enough" Rose grinned "All healed. Go on. Play"

Steve smiled and got up and left. But then he stopped, ran back to her and gave her a quick hug before running off to join others.

Rose just grinned

"Geez! Merlin!"

Rose looked on her side where Mia appeared and settled on the blanket, huffing

"What's wrong?" Rose asked

"Pulled a nerve while playing. Should I be even complaining about stuff like this at 23?"

Rose laughed "don't know"

For the next hour, the kids played catch, hide&seek (Tony hid behind Rose but Bruce found him) and now they were playing tag with Nat as 'it'. ("She's a freakin' ninja!" "Language, Tony!" "Sorry, Mia")

Rose was settled with her back to the tree, Mia lying with her head on Rose's knees. Seeing the casual day, Mia had clicked a lot of pictures of the kids, mainly with the purpose of blackmail but it was fun.

Rose sighed contently and then pulled her laptop out of nowhere

"You are kidding me, right?"

Rose looked from her screen at Mia, scowling at her, and raised a brow

"You get a day off and you are working?"

"you are the one who's been always telling me to finish my work. Now you've got a problem?"

"You idiot" Mia shifted to the side, supporting her head on her elbow "Enjoy the day. Do the work once you get back to the tower"

"Doesn't matter" Rose muttered

Before Mia could object,

"Rosie! Mia! Rosie! Mia! Rosie! Mia!"

The two witches looked at the gang rushed towards them, Clint and Tony in lead. Their eyes widened when they noticed two puppies in each of their hands respectively. One of them was white with black patches while the other was white with brown ears and tail

"What do you have there?" Mia asked

"Puppies!" Clint grinned "Can we keep them? Can we? Can we?"

"Can we?" Nat asked, very softly and pleadingly "Please"

"Can we please keep these endearing creatures, Miladies?"

And soon each and every one of the gang was pleading

"Oh boy" Rose muttered. She might have always had a soft spot for animals, Tony did not. He only tolerated her birds because she had trained them really well.

"They are dirty" Rose pointed

"We'll clean them" Tony volunteered and Bruce nodded

"They'll need to be walked twice a day" Rose added

"We'll take them to their required activities, Lady Rose" Thor said, pointing at himself and Steve

Rose was going to raise another point, but Mia smacked her

"Just say yes. We'll deal with them later"

"Okay. You can keep the puppies." Rose sighed, causing the whole group to cheer, and break out grins and beams which brought a smile on her face too

"Now you guys must be hungry. Sit down" Mia said. she made them wash their hands and pulled out some sandwiches they had packed. She spared the puppies some plain bread. To their amusement, the puppies not only seemed very happy to have some food but to share with some people. If Rose noticed all of them slipping off their food to the puppies when she nor Mia wasn't paying attention, she didn't say anything.

"We gotta name them," Bruce said, after they had lunch

"Tiny" Tony proposed

"No!" Nat frowned "One's male and other's female."

"How about Zeus and Hera" Mia suggested

That got the approval from the team and the puppies too

"You have any idea what breed they are?" Rose asked

Mia shrugged "Look like Russell Terrier, but only bigger"

"Cruppies?"

"Maybe."

"Don't they have two tails?"

"Maybe someone severed their tail at young age"

* * *

After lunch, the kids went back to playing and Rose went back to work.

A pressure made her look down at her lap. Zeus, one with black patches, had successfully climbed her lap and was proceeding to make it up to her torso. He placed his front paws on her chest and yipped playfully, making her laugh. She placed her laptop down and looked at Zeus

"You are cute" she smiled, scratching his ear, making the puppy bark cutely.

* * *

Around 5.30 PM, the girls decided it was a good time to return. So they packed everything, Steve and Thor carried the puppies and the team headed back to the tower. Somewhere along the way, Clint jogged to Rose and pulled her hand

"Yeah?" she asked, crouching down

"Can I get a piggy? Like Steve?"

Rose smiled and let Clint climb on her back. Once settled, Clint grinned and kissed Rose on the cheek. A click made the two of them look forward as Mia placed her phone back in her jeans pocket

"Hey Rose" Nat began

"Yeah?"

"Who are Avengers?"

Mia and she froze.

"Oh yeah," Steve nodded "Even I heard of them. Who are they?"

"Avengers are a group of superheroes" Mia explained, ignoring Rose's frown

"Superheroes?" Thor asked confused

"Like Captain America?" Tony asked, petting Hera

Rose frowned as Mia explained everything about Avengers.

"You are an Avenger?"

Rose looked at the team gaping at her then at Mia, who meekly smiled at her

"I'm" she admitted, nodding

"Cool!" Tony beamed, jogging in front of them and looked at the girls

"So you protect people from monsters?" Steve asked

"Those and big bullies" Rose smiled

"Did you fight any monster today?" Thor asked

"Uh..Not to-"

A blast resonated from the neighborhood

"Spoke too soon?" Rose asked

"I guess" Mia nodded

Rose looked at Mia and let Clint down "Take the kids and pups to the tower."

Mia nodded "Just don't die"

Rose nodded with a smile, pulled her earpiece, put it on and walked towards the source

"What am I looking at JARVIS?" she asked

"It appears that Dr. von Doom has attacked 23rd Street"

"Today's not really my day, is it?" she muttered

"It would appear so, Ms"

Rose frowned at the reply "Get my suit. Call Rhodey"

Within a minute, her suit appeared and wrapped around her. she flew up the attacked spot and hovered, scanning the scenario, looking for hostiles. So far she could make three types of bots-normal, flying and larger ones

"Col. Rhodes is on his way"

"Get Fury"

"Calling Director Fury..."

" _Saw the attack?_ "

"I'm right there, Fury. What's wrong with Doom and his robots?"

" _Guess he just woke up and decided to conquer the world"_

"You are not funny" Rose grumbled and swooped down, blasting Doombots with the repulsors and occasional missiles.

"Are you getting me back up or is it my first solo act?" she grunted, sending a Reducto at a bunch of robots. There were too many for her to handle alone

" _I thought you didn't play well with others, Stark"_

Rose grunted, launching small missiles from her shoulder compartments

"I'm so hexing you after this" she muttered loud enough for Fury to listen

And then there was some explosion behind her, which made her look above. She breathed in relief when she saw War Machine

"Where are others?" Rhodey asked

"Well...that's a long story" Rose replied. She ducked under an attack, which wouldn't stop, so she picked a nearby car and threw it at them

"Long story?"

"Quite"

"I'm not liking the sound of it" Rhodey replied "Plan?"

"Ugh..fight more talk less?"

"good plan" Rhodey flew off to deal with the ones who managed to get away, leaving her to the large ones

She did a well-timed Confringo and every bot in her vicinity exploded into pieces. Nodding to herself, she flew to Doom

"What's your today's agenda, Doom?" she asked, blasting away his large Robo-guards and punching him in the face. He stumbled back but managed to keep his footing

"Ahh, Stark. Prettier one at that" Doom chuckled, standing his full height

"Flattered" Rose replied, landing in front of him "Not sure Dad would agree, though"

"When has he ever?" Doom chuckled, launching an attack at her. Rose barely managed to conjure a shield. She used her repulsor on him, whose energy he just absorbed, making her swear

"My, my, my. Quite a colorful language for a young like such as yourself" he chuckled and his hands glowed a subtle dark green

Rose stood there, panting slightly, expecting something but nothing

"you okay there, Doom?" she asked

"Why am I not able to control your armor?" Doom growled

"Oh," Rose blinked, unable to understand why either "Luck?" she shrugged and dodged at the last moment when Doom sent a attack.

"So, your everyday world tyrant wannabe dream?" Rose asked, launching a few missiles, but he conjured a shield

"Not a dream anymore, Stark!" he snarked, sending a new horde of robots, the flying ones at that

"Where are the Avengers?!"

"Vacation" she replied, blasting the robots. But a new fleet appeared through the smoke

"Fuck!"

Rose zoomed away, the bots following her tail.

"J, what all do I have?" she asked, trying to lose the bots, while also dodging the attacks

"Not enough to deal with both the bots and Dr. Doom, Ms"

Rose grunted and flew towards the ground and pulled up at the last moment. The bots, unable of such a maneuver, crashed into the asphalt. Before Rose could even celebrate that small victory, something grabbed her by her foot and threw her away. She crashed into a building, passing through various walls and glasses before she finally stopped. She panted hard. Something had definitely broken, she was sure of.

She looked in front and her sensors locked on a huge bot

"Weakness, JARVIS!"

"Scanning..."

Rose grunted and putting everything in the thrusters, tackled the bot back into the open. She raised her forearms, aiming the mini-missiles at the bot, but the bot caught her by the head and flung her to the other side

"One day I need backup and it's not there. Fuck my life!" she grunted and looked at the huge bot approaching her

"Confringo!"

The blast hit the bot the same time as a big ball of fire. Once the smoke settled, the bot was no longer there. Rose looked up to see Johnny in his full Human Torch form.

"Having fun without me, beautiful?" he asked, approaching her and offering a hand

Rose rolled her eyes, but accepted his hand and stood up "Just try to keep up. And keep flirting to the minimum"

"I can do that, but no promises, though"

With that, the two flew off

Rose noticed Ben as well, being a pretty good substitute for Hulk, just not as effective.

"Duck!"

Rose faltered mid-air when Johnny pushed her and a missile flew past her, hitting a pack of flying robots, which was following them.

"Storm" Rhodey eyed Johnny warily, hovering in the air

"Colonel" Johnny nodded

"You two get Doom, Grimm and I've got the bots"

The fight lasted for another hour. Together Johnny and her managed to corner Doom, but the sonofabitch ran off before he could be captured, promising to return.

"so" Johnny began, crossing his arm and extinguishing himself "it was fun while it lasted"

A loud crack made the two look on their side where Ben had tore down a big bot into half with his hands

"Sure" Rose deadpanned, letting the helmet dissolve. Ben grunted and made his way to them, dusting his hands

"Good to see you, Rose"

"Feeling's mutual" Rose smiled

"Where's your team, Rosa? Especially my less handsome twin?" Johnny asked

Rose looked at Rhodey, who had raised a brow too at the question and the comment at Steve

"That's confidential" she replied

"Confidential?" Ben frowned

"I'm sorry Ben. I can't share more" Rose shot him an apologetic look

Ben grunted

"I gotta go," Rose said "Damage Control would be here soon"

"See you later, gorgeous" Johnny winked at her

Rose giggled when Rhodey shot him a dirty look. She nodded at him and let the helmet get back

"Come with me" she said in her comm to which Rhodey nodded

At once, the two flew off towards the Avengers tower

" _Pepper called me a few days ago_ "

Rose tried not to wince as Rhodey's face appeared in her HUD

"How much did she tell?" she asked

" _She just said that there was a magical mishap, thanks to Hawkeye. That's all"_

"That just happens to be the tip of an iceberg, actually" Rose said, landing on the pad as her suit started deforming around her. Rhodey followed suit.

Once in the elevator, Rose pressed the button for Mia's floor, and not the communal, which earned her a look from Rhodey

"Don't ask"

* * *

The moment the elevator opened at Mia's floor and she stepped out, two weights collided with her. If Rhodey had not caught her, she would have fallen on her arse. She looked down at Tony and Clint

"Are you okay?" Clint asked, his eyes glassy

"I'm fine" Rose grinned and picked up Clint, settling on her hip and kissed his head "I'm a superhero. That's what I do"

"Promise?" Tony asked, also looking at the verge of crying

"Promise" Rose smiled

"That big robot threw you into a building!" Steve noted

"Bruised a rib but nothing too severe" Rose replied. And then she was met with Mia's glare. _Broke a rib_ , Rose mouthed. It only made Mia tsk

"They've been worried ever since they saw the whole fight on the news" Mia said, approaching the two "Oh, hey Col. Rhodes"

"Rhodey, Mia. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Mia just gave him a small smile

"Now..."

"Right" Rose turned to the kids "I'm fine. And this is my uncle and godfather, Rhodey. Uncle Rhodey, this is Tony and Clint" she pointed at the kids latched to herself "and Nat, Steve, Bruce and Thor"

"Hi" came a chorus

Rhodey was too much of a shock in to reply. he broke out of his stupor once Rose elbowed him

"H-Hi"

"How about you all get some nap?"

Once all the kids left, Rhodey looked at Rose and Mia and frowned

"Who's going to start explaining? Also, do tell me why I see two puppies over there?"

* * *

Next morning Rose woke up to the smell of omelets. She got up with a yawn, stretched, and went to Mia's room. She found her best friend asleep on the bed.

She groaned. It had to be Thor or Steve trying to cook, again.

Pouting, she made her way to the kitchen and froze.

It was Steve cooking, alright. But not a ten-year-old Steve. Her old Steve.

Her eyes had widened the size of saucers. Steve was flipping omelets while petting Zeus, who was on top of the counter. Hera was by his feet, playing with a small ball

Steve was making breakfast when he noticed Rose standing at the doorway, shock very evident on her face

"Staring is bad, Rose" he chuckled, which seemed to break out her stupor.

Steve didn't expect Rose to tackle him into a tight hug. Steve laughed and wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer

"Thank god you are back to normal." she relaxed in his arms and took a deep breath

"Yeah" Steve smiled, omelet forgotten

Rose pulled after a while and rested her forehead to his.

"I'm so glad you are back," she said, her voice lowering an octave

"Me too" Steve replied. He suddenly noticed the closeness. Her perfect pink lips so close to his. His heart suddenly started hammering loudly in his chest. His breathing deepened. He just bent down but before he could place his lips on her

"Rosie?"

Rose pulled in a second and turned around to see Clint and Bruce and a huge grin broke on her face

Steve loosened his hold as she pulled and quickly tackled the two in a hug, who were laughing as they hugged her back

Tony was next to appear on the floor and Rose not only latched onto him but didn't let go for quite a time. Nat and Thor also got hugs. When Mia woke up with all the ruckus, she was too surprised to find the whole team back to normal. And more surprised when they gave her hugs.

Steve ordered for breakfast first and discussion later. He spared some milk for the puppies, making a mental note to buy some dog food.

"Oh coffee!" Tony almost moaned "How much I missed you?"

Mia chuckled and Rose scoffed while others laughed

"So, I have one question" Rose began "Do the pups stay?"

The six looked at the two puppies playing with a ball on the floor before looking at Tony

"Only if someone trains them"

* * *

Once they were done, they settled on the sitting area

"So, how much do you remember?" Rose asked

"Everything" Tony replied, Hera on his lap lying while Zeus was in Nat's arms, absentmindedly playing with her short red hair

"Everything?" Mia asked with a blink

"Yup" Nat nodded, petting Zeus

"Oh. Okay"

Silence. Quite an awkward silence

"You know what?" Clint spoke up "we are going to pretend that...that never happened and go back to our old lives. Alright?"

"We wouldn't be too haste in that, Clint" Mia smiled and pulled her phone, handing it to Clint. Others hunched over his shoulder to watch. To Clint's horror, it was a video of him singing "Let it Go" completely off-key and giggling all the time. The best part, little Clint had insisted that he dress up like Elsa while doing so. How could you say no a four-year-old baby with a full force of puppy-eyes-requesting look?

"Never thought I'd hear you giggle" Rose noted "We were so close to posting it on Youtube, Insta and Facebook"

Clint just raised his face, which had turned beet red and did something on the phone before returning it to Mia

"Did you just delete the video?" Mia frowned, checking it

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Clint looked away, face still very red

Mia shrugged "Good thing I saved everything into JARVIS' servers last night only"

Clint sputtered, causing everyone else to laugh

"We are not done, you know. We got too much stuff" Rose smirked "Like, we got a video of Nat trying to do ballet, inspired from the Swan Lake, Dad on sugar high, Steve in an accident involving paint cans, Thor falling down asleep during dinner and Bruce..." she looked at Mia "How come we don't have anything embarrassing on Bruce?"

"Because he was extremely disciplined for a kids his age" Mia replied, causing them all to flush with embarrassment

"JARVIS, delete all the evidence they just mentioned" Tony barked, face turning pink

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. Ms. used her override codes to keep that specific data secured"

Everyone looked at the two girls, who grinned at them

"We've got photos too," Rose said, pulling all the photos they had clicked. A couple of them had Pepper and the most recent ones had Rhodey caught in candids

"Hey, stop, that one" Clint pulled a photo of him getting piggyback with Rose before he looked back at Rose

"What do you say? Old times' sake?"

Rose chuckled and stood up.

"Oh god!" she grunted as Clint climbed on her back

"You are heavy, Barton!" she complained, carrying him piggyback. She tried to stand straight, barely managing as JARVIS clicked a photo of both the idiots grinning at each other. Clint got off and JARVIS placed both the photos next to each other

"Feels like a lifetime" Clint grinned at the compare

"The only difference I notice is Rose's change of clothes and hair" Bruce noted

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clint glared at the Dr.

Bruce shrugged and everyone laughed

"Wanna give a try, Cap?" Nat looked at Steve

"It's alright. I'm good"

"Old times' sake?" Nat tried with a smirk

"I'm good, Romanoff"

"don't tell me you think that Rosie can't handle you, do you?" Clint said, making Steve frown "You think so!"

"I don't want to hurt Rose" Steve noted

"I can handle you" Rose shrugged with a grin "You are not as heavy as you look, Cap"

"Ooooh" Clint laughed

Steve just raised a brow "Are you challenging me?"

"Only if you take me up on it" Rose smirked

Steve stood up and made it to her and she turned her back to him.

"Nope" Steve backed after a second "Not doing it" he turned to go back to his place when he felt a push. Rose had jumped on his back and he hastily liked his arms under her legs

"That makes a weird before-after, you know" Tony noted as JARVIS clicked a picture

"Talking of before-after" Rose spoke up, climbing off Steve back "We've got something for you"

"A present, Rose?" Thor asked

"Something like that" Rose smiled as she and Mia led them to the elevator

"Communal Floor, J"

the elevator started moving to the destination

"Did you repair it?" Bruce asked

"Awww! Thank you, Rosie. You didn't had to"

Rose just smiled but no reply

Once the elevator opened on the communal, the team noticed it was just the way they had left it as. Not a single thread out of its place.

"We saved it for you guys" Mia smiled

"so, you better get to repairing the whole floor" Rose added

"When you say 'you', you mean," Nat trailed off

"I mean all of you." Rose grinned, green eyes sparkling with mischief "Think of it as a...team building exercise"

With that, she turned and hooking her arm with Mia turned to leave

"where are you going?" Clint demanded

"You disrupted our vacation time in Milan. So we are going back to vacation" Mia replied

"Milan Fashion Week's over," Tony said

"Paris Fashion Week began today." Mia smiled

"Oh and one more thing. Clint, Pepper said you are in trouble when she gets back" Rose said

"And don't forget to feed Zeus and Hera," Mia said and the two girls disappeared into the lift

The whole team reviewed the broken floor

"Well, it could have gone worse" Nat shrugged

Clint's eyes widened "Could have? Pepper Potts out there for my head! How worse could it be?"

Tony scoffed "You did cause us all to turn kids and were the cause of the huge amount of blackmail material they now possess! You deserve it, birdbrain"

"But I must say, this experience as kids had been quite...interesting" Thor nodded

"That's one way to put it" Bruce sighed

"So, where do we start?" Steve asked, looking around

* * *


	17. April Fool's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April Fool's Day is an annual custom on April 1 consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. And the beginning of an all-out prank war among the Avengers.

Pepper loved the Starks. That was nothing new. She knew the Starks for a little over a decade. For her, Rose and Tony were family. Tony was her boyfriend and Rose was the closest thing she had to a daughter. And they knew it. But just because she loved the father-daughter duo, doesn't mean that they didn't manage to get on her nerves on various occasions. The worst part, Rose was slowly turning into Tony 2.0, just a little bit more mature, and that was something that worried Pepper, not to mention scared her. And that was exactly why she was dreading this day-1st April. She didn't hate the fact that Rose and Tony played so many pranks on each other, it was an amazing entertainment. But the cleanup was a bitch. Especially if Rhodey, Ron or George joined in. And now she had no idea what to expect with the Avengers in the tower

She checked the papers that needed Rose and Tony's signatures one last time, as the elevator door opened and she entered the newly renovated communal. It wasn't that different from the old one, just held more something. While earlier it was plain and modern, this one seemed to have everyone impact. Be it the color scheme or the new furniture, you could tell it belonged to the Avengers with all the new additions. And the most important part, the communal was empty. Except for Hera and Zeus who were lying on the couch. She had taken a quick liking to the pups, especially since Mia and Rose told her how the 'kids' begged them to adopt them.

No one else was at sight. Pepper frowned and checked her watch. 9 AM. Sure Rose didn't have any appointments and wasn't required to go to the office, so there was a possibility that she was sleeping. But she knew that Steve, Nat, and Bruce were early risers and had to be awake by this point.

"Where's everyone?" she asked out loud, sitting on the couch. Hera and Zeus made their way to her, nuzzling and trying to play which only made her laugh.

"Miss, Captain Rogers, and Dr. Banner are awake in their rooms. Agent Romanoff is currently in the 86th-floor weapons range. Agent Barton is moving along the vents on the 89th floor. Ms. Granger is sleeping. Sir is in his lab and Mr. Odinson is approaching the communal right now"

Pepper looked at the sound of heavy footfalls and Thor appeared, dressed in pajamas and bedhead

"Good morning, Thor" Pepper smiled

"Good Morning, Lady Pepper" Thor smiled then frowned in confusion as he looked up at the empty communal "Where is everybody?"

"Doing stuff" Pepper shrugged

"I see" Thor nodded and went to the kitchen. Seeing him, Hera jumped off the couch, stumbled a few steps, made her way to Thor. She barked cutely and placed her paws on his foot. Thor grinned and picked Hera placing her on the island counter

"Is it your day to cook?" Pepper raised a brow

"No. It is Banner's turn" Thor replied, getting himself a mixing bowl, cereal, and cold milk.

"Oh" Pepper nodded

He also got the dogs their food bowls and put the milk for them. He placed Hera down and seeing food, Zeus also rushed to eat

"Sugar" Thor muttered and walked to the cabinet, opened it and took out the container with the sugar. Pepper tried not to wince at the lumpsum amounts of sugar Thor was putting in his cereal. Once done, a satisfied grin appeared on his face and he settled on the kitchen stool to eat

"Would you like something, Lady Pepper?"

"I'm fine. Thank you"

Pepper had learned the hard way to not eat anything from the Starks' kitchen on April Fools Day. She so wanted to warn Thor, but how often do you get to see a Norse god getting pranked?

Thor shrugged and took a huge spoon of cereal to eat. He started chewing but then stilled, his eyes widened and within the next second, spit the entire thing on the floor. Pepper had to suppress a laughter

"Who in the name of the Allfather put salt in sugar's container?!" he demanded

Pepper sighed. Prank war had begun. She'd be fine as long as the team cleaned their mess or didn't prank her. The signatures could wait

* * *

Rose was so in her turf. April fools Day. First for the team. and she was going to make it memorable. She had given JARVIS orders to record everything that happened today, no matter who the victim was. Even if it was her or Tony.

Sadly, the Weasleys couldn't make it. There was always an extra rush in their shops on this particular day. But just because they couldn't be there physically didn't mean they couldn't be there at all. George had sent her a package of all their exclusive prank-merch with a note - _Give 'em hell, Princess._

And that was exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

There was a reason Tony locked himself in his lab. No one knew the security code, except Pepper and Rose. Pepper wasn't the pranking type and Rose knew better than to prank in his lab. Which doesn't mean he was unarmed. He had his own sets of pranks and he couldn't wait to test them out.

* * *

Clint was grinning like a mad man. He had a vantage point, a point above everyone. He was the king of the pranks and no way he was he going to be outpranked by anyone.

He was right now in the vent that went though Rose's room and he could see all the preparations she had done for the day. A huge crate of what looked like prank toys sat in the corner with a symbol of two Ws on top. Wouldn't take a genius to figure out that Weasleys had lent her a hand.

Clint tilted his head to focus on the girl instead. She was writing something down on a notepad on the desk. She nodded and left, out of his vision. Curiosity piqued. He pulled a pair of binoculars and focused them on the note she had written

"I know you are there, Legolas?" Clint frowned. Realization struck in a second late but suddenly a tsunami of glitter approached him from the front

"Fuck!"

Panicked, he turned around but froze when a similar tsunami came from behind.

"Oh Jesus"

Meanwhile, Rose was laughing her ass off. She had a feeling that Clint would hide in the vents and use it to his advantage. So she turned his advantage into her own. A few spores of glitter fell from the vent opening and she could hear Clint groaning and grunting.

"JARVIS?"

"Photos have been clicked, Ms"

Good thing she installed cameras in the vents too

* * *

Steve had been very precautioned when he woke up that morning. With two full-time pranksters and two other occasional troublemakers, he knew that today was going to be eventful. He had woken up, checked everything around him to see if anything was booby-trapped. Thankfully, nothing. With a contented sigh, he got off the bed, still checked around and then entered the bathroom to freeze.

It looked like a paint bomb had gone off in the bathroom. The whole place (and I mean the whole place-from floor to ceiling) was covered in red and golden paint. the walls, tiles, white towels, bath-tub, shower-stall, sink, and mirror, everything was in red and gold paint.

Oh Tony was going to pay for this

* * *

Bruce Banner practiced calmness. Majorly to subdue the Other Guy. He wasn't overly fond of April Fools Day and he might enjoy the day too, as long as he was not the victim.

As carefree as he always was (which is never), he got up, took a shower(which had gotten repainted overnight to red and gold; thank you very much Tony), and headed for some food. There he found nobody, except an almost full bowl of cereal. He frowned. No one on the team in their right mind would waste food like that. He picked a spoonful and smelled it first. A smell of salt hit him. Okay. That wasn't bad. He walked off and searched for the cabinets carefully. He was still skeptical about eating from the kitchen, who knew what all had been swapped.

Finally, he found a big container in which he and Tony stored M&Ms. Others weren't very fond of them unless they had mood swings or cravings(or period cramps, in case of Rose and Mia). Tony had a sweet tooth and he liked them. Something was better than nothing. He unscrewed the container and popped one only to stop at the nutty flavor. M&M's didn't have hazelnuts in them, did they? He took a handful out and looked at them and a chill ran down his spine.

Someone had mixed M&M, Skittles, and Reese's Pieces in it together. They had broken the sacred distribution.

Bruce put it all back and screwed the container again. Prank war was so on

* * *

Natasha stiffed a smirk as she looked at Bruce. She had waited long for someone to open the container and realize what she had done. She did not doubt that Bruce would be swearing at the culprit (i.e. her) in seven different languages.

With a satisfied sigh, she went back to her room and headed for the closet. She picked a pair of leggings and a simple top and placed it on the bed before heading into the shower. She mentally groaned at the state of the bathroom and the whole red-gold paint job. How and when Tony executed it would be something she'd like to know.

Forgetting about the paint job for a few minutes, she undressed and stepped into the shower.

She was midway washing her hair when she felt a little burning sensation on her scalp, which should not be there. she checked the shampoo bottle, it was the regular one. With a frown, she quickly rinsed her hair and the sensation stopped. Nat finished showering, dried herself and wrapped another towel around her shoulder-length wet hair and went out to get dressed

* * *

Tony groaned. He was hungry, but he knew if he stepped out of the security of his lab, he'd be pranked. So he cleared his throat and pressed the intercom button

"Guys, it's me. I know what's going on, but I'm also sure that everyone hungry. It's about to be 10. So let's call a truce for one hour, have breakfast, and then go back to whatever we were scheming. Capiche? All clear? Cool. It's Brucie's turn to make breakfast. Everyone, get to the kitchen"

He turned and left the lab, hoping they all would listen to him for once

* * *

Surprisingly they did. Rose quickly followed dressed in loose deep grey one off-shoulder top and blue denim shorts. So far she didn't look pranked. But the smile on her face told she definitely pranked someone.

Steve followed next. He held a poker face but greeted everyone at the table with a smile. Bruce was already in the kitchen with a deep scowl on his face. Thor came next, frowning and muttered gibberish to himself. Then came Clint. Tony laughed so hard that he fell off the stool. Others were better either.

Clint Barton was covered head-to-toe in multicolor glitter.

"Barton!" Steve stopped laughing for a few seconds "You do make a sparkling entrance"

That caused everyone to laugh again as Clint scowled

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want" he grumbled then looked at Rose "Okay. what's the secret?"

"What secret?" Rose asked innocently

"Why can't I remove it?" he demanded, rubbing a bit off his body but the glitter didn't come off

"Oh." Rose blinked, a grin forming "That's a semi-permanent sticking charm"

Tony was so sure that had they been able to see his real skin, Clint would have paled

"Semi-permanent?" Clint definitely didn't squeak

"Yup," Rose nodded then turned to Bruce "What's for breakfast?"

"Nice makeover, Barton"

They all turned to Natasha and their all were forced to hide their laugh behind snickers

"What's wrong?"

"Nat" Bruce began, a wide smile on his face "Did you check your hair?"

"My hair?" Nat frowned and then her eyes widened. Rose thankfully conjured her a mirror to check herself. Nat almost curbed a scream. Her bright red hair, her pride, her signature, her identity, was no longer there. Instead were lochs of bright neon green. She scowled hard and looked around for the culprit. None of them gave away anything. It sucked.

"Hey, sit down for breakfast. Then you can decide who to maul" Rose suggested and Nat obliged, silently promising a lot of pain to whosoever who did it

Rose turned to Bruce and smiled "What's the long face for?"

Bruce frowned again and then slammed the M&M container on the island in front of them

"No one had better touched my M&Ms" Tony grunted, opening the box and checking it only to whine. Someone had disturbed the holy grail of sweets. He growled and looked around the table "Whosoever did this has no soul. I'm telling you, this person has no soul or no heart. This is just wrong. I hope you are happy now. This is sad. This is sad! You should be ashamed! You'll burn in hell for this, I curse you" he finished his rant and looked back at the container "Heathens"

Just then the elevator door opened and Mia stepped out, in her pajamas and yawning

"Morning, guys" she yawned again and settled. Bruce quietly passed her a plate for which she muttered thanks. She was in the middle of the bite when she noticed the changes

"Clint? Why are you covered in glitter?" she frowned then shifted her gaze to the ex-Russian spy "Since when do you have green hair?"

"Prank wars" Clint replied, half grinning, half whining

Mia frowned then her eyes widened "Today's April 1st!"

"Good morning, bookworm" Tony laughed

Mia looked at them all "Okay. If anyone dares prank me..., I'm telling you. Don't you dare"

"Or what?" Clint challenged

"Or I'll post all the blackmail material we gathered in those three days on social media" Mia threatened

Needless to say, it was very effective, especially to those whom it concerned

Rose shrugged "You have nothing on me"

"I do" Mia replied, a rare smile forming on her face "You prank me, Rose, and I'll tell everyone what you did last St. Patrick's Day"

Rose froze and then slowly looked at her best friend "You wouldn't"

"Don't prank me"

Rose breathed deeply "Fine!"

Mia nodded "Good."

The next hour went pretty casual. They all had their breakfast in silence, all their gears moving with pranking ideas or payback. The moment breakfast was done, they all vanished to their lairs to plan and plot

* * *

One thing they all knew, was that Rose and Tony had an unfair advantage over them. Rose was magical. Tony built the tower, so he knew all the routes and shortcuts. Also JARVIS willingly to the craziest demands only if the Starks made them. And they all also knew that there were very fewer odds that Rose and Tony would prank each other.

So here was Steve, trying to gain access into Tony's lab where he knew all the Iron Man suits were.

"I'm afraid you are not authorized to enter the lab, Captain" JARVIS spoke up

"Come on. It's a prank war. All fair in love and war JARVIS" Steve smiled at the camera

"that will not cut it out, Captain"

Steve sighed. He had to find a better way to retaliate. Then a bulb went off in his head and he rushed upstairs to Tony's room. He carefully listened first to see if anyone was inside, but hearing no one, he entered and made his way to Tony's walk-in closet.

Smirking, Steve kept his duffel on the floor and took out two spray cans. He uncapped them, shook them and started spraying, a smirk on his face

* * *

For once, Thor was confused. He did not understand this particular Midgardian custom.

"JARVIS, can you tell me what's going on with the team?" he asked

"Certainly, Mr. Odinson..."

Once JARVIS's explanation ended, a smirk grew on Thor's face. They wanted practical jokes, then they shall get them

* * *

Clint stopped entering the vents after the glitter incident. Speaking of which, the glitter still won't come out! So he had changed into some full sleeve clothes and a beanie. He was so going to get Rose back for all the glitter.

But what he didn't understand was that he had changed all their shampoos for dyes. Everyones. Dyes he had ordered for the Weasleys. (Oh yes! Rose was not the only one getting external help.) But how come, only Nat fell for that?

Which was hilarious. World's deadliest spy and she fell for that!

So here he was making his way to Rose's lab. He was going to graffiti the hell out of her precious suits. And thankfully, her lab didn't have the same security measures Tony's had. That guy had made it a fortress with anyone being unable to enter.

He punched his code and entered. Her lab was white and pristine, right out of some sci-fi movie.

"Cleanliness freak" he muttered and went around to see what all he could graffiti

"Agent Barton, Ms has asked that if you choose to retaliate, that you leave her suits and inventions alone. Or the consequences would be severe"

Clint pouted "Don't worry about it, JARVIS. I'm not gonna touch her suits."

And he wouldn't after that warning. Prank wars were one thing but the last thing he wanted was a pissed-off witch who could turn you into a worm if she wanted.

Except, he rigged a few tripwires and hid some cans of black paint and feathers connecting to the tripwires. Then he taped an airhorn under her chair. and a few more booby traps.

Once done, he smiled satisfied, and got up. He picked his bag and started making his way to the exit when he felt his foot touch something and he froze. He followed the thin red beam. And suddenly the beam went off and the lab doors closed.

"What?" he rushed and tried to open the door, but nothing.

"JARVIS open the door" he demanded, but nothing. Then it hit him. he must have triggered a motion sensor.

Hearing a sound, he looked up at the ceiling where a hatch was slowly opening. He knew that Rose's lab had no vents at all. And he didn't remember this hatch before. Before he could contemplate, something fell on him in huge amounts, drowning him completely.

Clint gasped once he was done. he looked at the floor from where the neon paint mix was draining out of the lab without leaving a trace on the floor. With a frown, he made his way to the full-size mirror he knew she kept in the lab. And he did not shriek when he saw his reflection. Not only was he still covered in glitter, but also different shades of neon paints. he quickly removed his shirt and to his horror, his entire torso was colored. How the hell did the paint get through his shirt?

The lab doors opened and Rose entered, laughing and holding her stomach

"Twice! TWICE! Barton how many times are you gonna fall for it?" she laughed

Clint frowned and then noticed that she was making her way to the chair. he bit back a smirk

"It was a good one" he crossed his arms

"I knew one of you was going to try and prank my lab" she grinned and almost sat down but stopped. She noticed Clint's reaction, it was weirdly anticipation. So she stood up

"You did something," she said and crouched, noticing the air horn. She gave Clint a look, pulled it out, and kept it on the table.

"good one" she shrugged and turned to leave

Clint saw in anticipation when he saw almost heading for a tripwire. and she stopped right before it. She crouched and soon found the tripwire

"Tripwires?" she chuckled and looked at him "I'm gonna go on a limb and say that got the whole place booby-trapped." she nodded and went over the tripwire. And then she made all the way back to the lab doors, a huge smirk on her face

"Better luck next time" she shrugged and left

* * *

Rose walked into the kitchen, craving something. She carefully checked the cabinets. Nothing. She wouldn't put it past Nat, Tony or Bruce to rig the cabinets. But nothing came. Good so far. With a sigh on finding nothing, she walked to the fridge and opened the door. and within the next second, something cold and hard met her face before it fell on the floor with a huge clang, enough for the whole three floors to hear above and below

"what happened?" Steve ran into communal first and soon everyone followed.

"who broke what?" it was Tony

Rose sighed and stood up, facing the team and soon she heard howling laughter. She sighed, wiped her face off with her hand, and opened her eyes. everyone was laughing

She took a deep breath. she wiped one finger off her cheek and tasted it

"lemon and cream cheese?" she asked "The least you could have gotten was strawberry"

That caused more laughter

"First time someone pranked you in a long time" Tony chuckled "Good to know things changed"

"Oh alright" she nodded, a very devious smirk making its appearance "It's on. So on. Till now I was doing baby stuff but now the real shit begins. Beware. So is anyone gonna claim this successful attempt?"

No one did

"You all are gonna pay, then" she turned her heel and left for her room

"what do you mean someone pranked her for the first time?" Bruce asked

"She's too good. Always knows about booby traps. It's very hard to take her by surprise. but this person did. And now she's gonna retaliate. I'd watch my back the whole time if I were you. She's super savage and ruthless when it comes to pranks" Tony replied

"Barton?"

"Yeah?"

"Bodypaint?"

* * *

Rose headed to her room, thinking of all the possible pranking spells. She almost entered the room when she noticed the open door. She carefully looked and raised a brow at the bucket placed over the door. she magically levitated it and placed it down before entering the room and made her way to the bathroom, which was not given a red-gold makeover. Quickly washing her face, dabbed with a clean towel and looked at her reflection, her eyes glowing for a split second.

Rose tied her hair in a ponytail and entered her closet to change and stopped cold. Someone had drawn on her clothes, including dresses that were worth thousands of dollars, with spray paint.

She took a deep breath as she looked at the destroyed clothes. Oh someone ( she knew who it was, or had a deep feeling about it) was going to pay dearly. Casting a cleaning spell, which vanished all the paint and graffiti, she pulled a fresh black-white striped top and black denim shorts.

Once changed, she made her way outside. On her way, she peeked into the bucket and her eyes widened seeing raw eggs and not water or paint. So this was how they were gonna do. Time to bring in some Weasley Charm

* * *

Bruce was, as per Tony's suggestion, watching his back. He didn't expect Rose to fall for his trick, but she did. So here he was, being very careful as he approached his room to plot some more. So far, nothing. With a contented sigh, he held his room's doorknob and opened it. And soon something collided with his stomach. He knew the furniture in his room. Nothing should be there. He looking down and almost jumped. a pair of orange beady eyes looked up at him, which soon leveled with his eyes. a forked tongue made its appearance.

Bruce gulped and took a step back slowly. He slowly looked over the huge thing in his room. Had to be about 24ft (almost 4.5 times his height) and about 350 pounds. He slowly took another step back and something hit the back of his leg. He looked down to see it was rather its body. He gulped realizing that, no, the thing was real and not an illusion. He took another step back and quickly closed the door, panting hard. He did not want to be its appetite. He had heard of cases where humans had been on its menu

Calming himself, Bruce sighed and opened the door a little and peeked inside. It was still there, crawling to his bed and lying around, its eyes still focused on the door. Bruce quickly shut it and leaned against the door. How did Rose get a python this big in his room without anyone noticing?

* * *

Natasha was plotting. She had prepared a lot of water balloons filled with ice-cold water, eggs, and all weird stuff. And had managed to hide it all in her clothes.

She got out of her room, ready to pelt anyone with the balloons. She walked across the corridor and stopped when she heard a little whoosh. As soon as she turned something collided with her forehead and some powdery substance covered her, making her cough. Once clear, she wiped the thing off her eyes and looked around. No one. She wiped her hand over her head and smelled it. Cocoa powder.

Another something hit her from behind, making her stumble a few steps forward. She turned around. No one. With a frown, she checked the next substance and something gooey hit her hand. She brought it forward. It was blue and jelly-like. And smelt of blueberry. And then she groaned. Slime. hearing another movement, she looked up and her eyes widened. On both sides of the corridor were a lot of balloons floating, aiming for her

"Oh holy fuck"

* * *

Thor entered his room and sat down on the bed when he felt something wet on his bottom. With a frown, he got up and looked on his bed. Something was different. He wiped his hand on the blanket and his hand was covered with paint.

he groaned and checked the rest of the room. All the important places were covered in wet paint. Thor bit back a swear.

He knew it wasn't Rose. He had an idea what her pranks could be. Covering his room in paint was more of what Barton or Romanoff would come up with.

He grunted and changed into clean pajamas before he walked to the stuff he had just brought from the shop with a smirk. He may not know much about prank days, but he lived with Loki for centuries. He certainly picked a thing or two

* * *

Tony had full faith that Rose wouldn't prank him. The opportunity to prank five unsuspecting poor poor fellows was too much for Rose to pass. Clint was already victimized twice and something told him there was going to be more. Besides they had been pranking each other for years. Hence, his guard was comparatively low. All he had to look up for was a pair of spies, a super soldier, a demigod, and a scientist. Not very hard if you've lived a Marauder your whole life.

He entered the kitchen and smirked. He pulled some Oreos( he knew that Cap had a thing for Oreos) and quickly replaced the cream with toothpaste. Classic prank. Though he was still pissed about someone damaging his M&Ms. Then he did something he had a couple of times before. He pulled some mac&cheese powder and mixed it in water. he stirred it, added some ice cubes and kept it in the glass jar and on the counter.

He knew Rose didn't drink orange juice so she'd be fine. He carefully placed some punked donuts and placed them in the fridge. Rose would not eat them, he knew. He turned to leave only to pause when he felt something against his leg. He looked down and almost whined. a tripwire. And soon something fell on him. Once done, he wiped the thing off his eyes and looked at his hands. Black paint and feathers.

He grunted. Rose better prank Barton good

* * *

Clint made his way to Steve's room. he knocked and waited, as Steve opened the door

"I'm not here to prank you" Clint quickly said "I'm here to call a truce"

"Truce?" Steve raised a brow

"Hmm-mm" Clint nodded "Rose got me twice. I want to get her back. Nat is nowhere to be seen and i-"

"I'm going to stop right there," Steve said "I'm totally in for this whole prank war, but no way I'm getting on it against Rose. You heard Tony. She's a pro. and by the looks," his eyes raked over Clint's neon and glitter form "I have no intentions of being covered in red, blue, and white paint or glitter. You are on your own Barton"

"Fine" Clint huffed and turned his heel to go to his room.

First, he needed to get the paint off then plan to get back to the one Rose Stark and show her that no one can out prank him.

Deep in thoughts, he opened his room's door entered only to be greeted by chilly winds. Did JARVIS change the temperature again?

He looked and a literal chill ran down his spine. Not only was his room completely covered in white snow, but he could also see a couple of penguins playing in his bathroom, a huge polar bear dozing at another corner.

A sudden noise made him jump and look down. a fox was poking his head from the snow, tongue out, head tilted.

"What the?" He crouched and picked the snow. It was real. As if to prove him more wrong, the arctic fox jumped out of the snow and gave his face a firm lick before diving back into the snow.

Clint blinked. Shit!

So if the fox and snow were real, so was the polar bear. Gulping slightly, he turned around and gasped at the closed door. he tried the knob, but nothing. He jerked the door, trying not to make too much noise to wake up the bear. But the door wouldn't budge. He cried out.

Hearing a loud yawn, he turned back to see the polar bear waking up. Clint quickly scurried to the corner and sat in silence. Today was not his day, was it?

"Screw you Rose" he muttered, hands balling on the snow

* * *

Thor made his way to the kitchen. And found no one. knowing that he got enough opportunity to pull his prank, he made his way to the kitchen and started his plan.

* * *

Steve refused Clint for a reason. He had no intention of pissing off the younger Stark, any more than he already had. So far, he had not been pranked by Rose, which didn't mean that she couldn't prank him later. Whereas he had spray-painted her whole wardrobe.

With a shake of head, he took a relaxing shower, didn't use shampoo, should anyone put anything, toweled himself and wrapped another around his waist, and then opened his closet and gasped. All his clothes were missing. All except innerwear.

he swallowed. What was he going to wear now?

* * *

He had just come out of his room, barely hiding a blush, praying that no one would see him in that state. He peeked into the kitchen and was thankful to find Thor alone.

"Hey Thor"

Thor turned around and chuckled

"What happened to your clothes, Captain?"

"Someone stole them" Steve grumbled, "Can I borrow a few of yours?"

"Of course" he nodded

Steve smiled "Thank you." then he noticed Thor cooking "Isn't it Banner's turn today?"

"I couldn't find Banner anywhere and I'm hungry" Thor replied

"Oh okay," Steve nodded and turned to leave but froze when he heard the elevator open. He saw Rose walked out, smiling to herself. Oh, she pranked someone, he could tell.

She shot Thor a smile and then her eyes fell on Steve. They widened a little and chuckled

"Is this a new trend or something? Because I'm not complaining"

Steve's face grew warmer

"Someone on the team stole his clothes" Thor answered for him

"Ouch. that's pretty low" she exhaled "I can get some of dad's clothes"

"Uh...it's fine. I'll borrow some from Thor" with that he ran off. he had no idea what will Rose do if she found out the artwork he had to Tony's expensive wardrobe, but it certainly won't be amusing

Thor chuckled

"What?" she asked

"Uh...I have a feeling that it was you" he looked at her, asking if he used the phrase correctly

Rose nodded but then frowned "He spray-painted on my $10,000 Oscar de la Renta dress"

* * *

After spending 2 hours to get the feathers and paint off his body, Tony sighed and went to his wardrobe and frowned. Had to be Steve.

He somehow found a clean pair of clothes and put them on. He either needed to get Rose there or spend thousands on dry cleaning. He looked at the clock which said 5 PM. Wow, time flew really. no one had even bothered for lunch.

And he was tired. Physically and mentally. A knock on his door got his attention. He opened the door to find a panicked Bruce

"Everything okay?" he asked

Bruce took a deep breath "There's a python in my room"

Tony blinked.

Snakes. Rose's second favorite prank.

"How did she get it?" he asked

tony shrugged "Ask her" he turned around and sat on the bed "What do you say, we call this off. I'm tired"

Bruce took a deep breath "Yeah. I like the sound of it" he nodded and pressed the intercom button "Everyone. Let's wrap this up with the pranks. Tony and I are tired and we have a lot of mess to clean. So, how bout you all get to the kitchen, we'll have some early dinner and call it a night."

Tony nodded at him and the two scientists made their way down to the communal

* * *

They found Thor and Rose there. Thor was cooking and Rose was eating a packet of peanuts. she saw them and smiled

"Hey, you got something" she pointed at Tony's neck

"Here?"

she reached and wiped it off his neck

"did you get doused by Clint's paint and feather prank?" she chuckled

"Unfortunately" Tony groaned

"Huh" she scoffed

Bruce went up to the counter and poured himself a glass of orange juice. He took a sip and then spit the entire thing in the sink

"What the heck is this?" he demanded

"It's not Orange juice?" Rose asked

"No" Bruce frowned as Tony snickered "Really?" he asked Tony

"It was good" Tony countered

Soon other filtered in too. Everyone else had to smother their laughs. Clint was now, on top of everything, covered in a thin layer of snow and shivering. Nat's green hair and rest of her body was covered in stuff ranging from slime and flour to...was that cocaine?

"What's with you?" Steve asked Nat

"She" Nat glared at the pink-head "spelled balloons to follow me everywhere I went. And they were filled with all the disgusting stuff"

"How did you do it?" Clint frowned at Rose

"Do what?" Rose asked

"Turn my room into an Arctic Tundra. There's a polar bear, an arctic fox, and penguins in my room!"

"My room was a 25ft python in it!" Bruce added

Rose's eyes widened for a second "Right. Medusa"

"You brought Medusa here?" Tony frowned

"Who's Medusa?" Steve asked

a loud clang came as the vent hatch fell from the top. All-except Rose and Tony- their eyes widened as a huge snake with bright orange eyes slithered out

"That thing was in the vents!" Clint cried out but got ignored

"what the hell?" Nat took out her gun

"You shoot her and I'll drench you in sewer water" Rose frowned at the assassin. The snake slowly climbed down and then slithered to Rose and wrapped itself around her body, resting its head on her shoulder

"Everyone, Medusa" Rose smiled as she introduced everyone "Medusa, these are my friends"

"Lemme get this straight. You have a freaking pet anaconda?" Clint demanded

"I do." and then her eyes narrowed "Medusa is a reticulated python, not an anaconda"

"Are you sure she won't eat us?" Nat asked

"Medusa is not a man-eater." Rose scoffed "Seriously snakes are not that bad"

"When did you get her here?" Bruce asked, fidgeting. Something about Medusa's sight was bad. Like she was sizing you for next meal

"Last night. She was in my room the whole day" Rose smiled "How'd you like the prank?"

Bruce frowned "Not funny"

Rose laughed. Medusa hissed loudly, which only made Rose laugh louder

"Well, Medusa says otherwise"

"and you can talk to snakes" Bruce scoffed in disbelief

"everyone can talk to snakes. They understand English quite well. The question, can you understand them?" she wagged her brows

"Can you, Rose?" Thor asked

"Hmm-mm" she nodded "I'm a parselmouth. It's a rare quality. I can understand snakes easily and other reptiles to some degree"

"How long have you had her?" Steve asked, hesitantly reaching to pet Medusa. The snake spared him one glance then went back to indifference.

"Little over 2 years" she replied, "Rescued her from a zoo in Florida."

"Thought you had no more pets" Clint folded his arms

"No. I said I don't have any more pets here. Medusa lives in London"

"A bit cold of reptiles, isn't it?" Bruce asked

"That's where magic comes" Rose smiled

"What about that polar bear and fox and penguins?" Clint asked,

"that's just the pups and a little magic" she smiled and looked at the stairs "Hera! Zeus!"

"do you have something for Greek mythology?" Nat asked

Rose shrugged "Maybe"

The pups came down running. Though they were normal, they all could see the hints of the illusions on them

"See, no polar bear. Just the pups" she grinned. Tony scooped them, as the puppies gave him a nuzzle and lick. Medusa eyed the pups and her tongue flicked out

"Hey!" Rose frowned "Pups are not on the menu"

Medusa turned to Rose and hissed something

"Yup" she replied

"I hate you. I so so hate you, Rose Stark" Clint grumbled

"everything's fair in love and war" she grinned

"Okay," Steve cleared his throat "who took all my clothes?"

No reply.

though, Thor loudly chuckled

"someone you wanna tell me?" Steve asked

Thor smiled big, especially when he saw Rose telling him to shut up behind Cap

"Nothing, Captain"

"Someone stole your clothes?" Nat scoffed "That's a good one" Nat nodded with a smirk

"Well, I'm heading to get Medusa back to her home" Rose stood up and almost hunched under all the weight Medusa was putting on her

"Get to your carrier, please" she looked at Medusa. Medusa hissed something and then slithered out of the communal

"I'll be back by dinner" with that she left through the lift.

"Well, I'm heading to the shower. I smell like weed" Nat turned and left

"Anyone had any idea how long before all this comes off?" Clint asked, particularly looking at Tony

"Tomorrow morning" Tony shrugged then looked at Thor "You made snacks?"

"Certainly, Man of Iron" Thor grinned and placed a plate of caramel apples, freshly baked brownies, and a bowl of chocolate peanuts he had made.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" Bruce asked

"Nah. I ate my part" Thor smiled "I wish to get some rest" with that he turned and left

Tony shook his head and picked a piece of chocolate peanut and tossed it into his mouth only to stop. There was a stingy taste that should not be there. He spat the thing into a napkin and the rancid smell of garlic hit him

"They are not peanuts. it's garlic" Tony complained

"You think?"

He looked up, pushing Hera back into his lap as she tried to take a bite of 'chocolate peanuts', and almost laughed at the expression Steve had.

"These are caramel onions" he pointed at the caramel 'apples'

Clint suddenly gasped, ran to the sink, spit out the brownie he had bitten, and began washing his mouth. Once done, he opened a bottle and drank the whole of it.

"what's wrong, Katniss?"

"They are spicy!" he pointed at the brownies

Steve carefully picked a piece ad smelled it and took a very small bite and his eyes widened

"The heck?"

"Tabasco sauce" Bruce laughed picking an empty bottle of it from the dustbin "Never thought Thor had it in him"

"Yeah too bad the girls aren't here to try them" Clint frowned, making his way to the fridge. He spotted the donuts. He closed the fridge and took one bite and then spit it back

"Seriously? Mayo?"

"It's an old prank" Tony shrugged with a smile "but worth it"

Steve shook his head before making his way to the cabinet, spotting a packet of Oreos. He opened the packet, checked it once before taking a big bite. And suddenly felt something minty. He frowned and looked around the three

"Who did it? And what is it?" Steve frowned

Bruce picked a cookie and smelled it and snorted "Toothpaste in Oreo. Not bad" he shook his head and switched the coffee machine on. Once the coffee was ready, he poured himself a mug and settled

"Well, for once, I'm glad the day's over" Clint muttered

"You'd say that because you got pranked...how many times again?" Tony snickered

"Don't make me shoot you, Stark" Clint grumbled

"I told you Rose is ruthless when it comes to pranks. She was her school's prank queen." he snorted "You are talking about turning your room into the tundra, she turned her school's entire fifth-floor corridor into a tropical swamp for a whole week" he chuckled

"Then it's good that Prank day's only once a year" Steve noted

Bruce chuckled and smiled at the group "I had my fair share with Medusa" he paused seeing the snickers

"What?"

"Your teeth" Steve smiled

"My teeth?" he frowned and picked the mirror Rose had conjured in the morning that was still on the island. He checked his teeth and groaned. they were all tinted blue.

Bruce groaned and then frowned "Thor!"

* * *

By nighttime, everything had gone back to normal. Not trusting anything, the team ordered food from outside and placed a new movie. Mia had finally joined them. she gave one look at Clint-covered in neon paint- and Nat's still green hair which for some reason smelled like cocaine and...

"Is that Vieux Boulogne?" she asked

"Don't ask" Nat muttered and she dropped the subject.

Pepper joined them later.

They were halfway through the movie when Rose appeared.

Tony was the first to notice that she seemed a bit put out and he frowned. She came to sit on the bean bag, didn't once glance at the food or movie

"Rosie?" he asked, "You okay, munchkin?"

"huh?" she looked at him. she looked disturbed and...scared(?) "Yeah, dad. I'm cool"

Tony frowned and shared a look with Mia and Pepper, who had also noticed. He muted the TV

"Rose?" Pepper asked

She bit her lip and looked at the team, now gathering all their attention

"Rosie, is everything okay?" Bruce asked

"Who do I have to shoot?" Clint asked

"Uh..." Rose pressed her lips in a line "well, I got something to tell you all"

Nat walked to her and crouched next to her "What's it?"

Rose took a deep shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled. "Okay..." she opened her eyes and looked at everyone "Uh..."

"Just say it. We won't judge you" Mia added

Rose took another breath "I'm pregnant"

Steve choked on his food as his eyes widened as he coughed, but no one paid mind to him. Clint's jaw hit the floor. Bruce openly gaped. Nat was shocked. Mia and Pepper were no better.

"WHAT!"

They all looked at Tony

Rose sighed and looked at him "I'm pregnant, Dad"

"Who's the father?" Nat slowly asked

"I... don't know" she whispered barely

"Oh my baby" Mia wrapped her arms around her

"Congratulations, Rose" Thor beamed and approached her. Mia let Thor hug Rose and he patted her back

"Holy shit!" Clint stood up "Y-You...You're pregnant!"

"that's what she said" Nat frowned then realized something "the tower needs to be baby-proofed"

"I can help you with the checkups" Bruce offered

Steve opened his mouth but words wouldn't come out. He couldn't believe it. His crush was pregnant! Was this how the universe was going to screw him?

He wanted to be angry at her for being irresponsible but he knew the reason why she did the one-nighters or part of it

"But what about missions?" he asked rather

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Clint asked

"Ooh, I hope its a girl."

"Nah a boy."

"Girl," Natasha snapped at Clint,

"Boy."

"Girl!"

"Boy!" The arguing and mindless chatter continued. Rose shared one look with Tony and let out a small smirk and he scoffed as he looked around the team. Mia had figured it out too and Pepper...Mia told her(Rose could see a lecture of being careless forming in her head)

"Can I?" Bruce asked

Rose bit her lip and lifted her shirt as Bruce checked her abdomen

Steve was still horrified at everything

"dibs on godfather!" Clint shouted suddenly

"Oh hell no!" Bruce shouted, surprisingly

"I think I'd like to be the godfather as well" Thor butted

"Uh-huh. No way. She's like my little sister. I'm gonna be the godfather"

"Clint Barton, I swear," Bruce stopped when he heard a giggle coming from next to her

Everyone looked at her as her giggle turned into her laughing her ass off on the ground. Soon Tony joined her. Mia chuckled and Pepper just shook head with a smile

"What's going on?" Bruce blinked

Rose stopped and sighed "You adorable dunderheads. I'm not pregnant" she chuckled

"what?" Nat muttered

"She played you" Tony laughed "JARVIS. Please tell me you got everything."

"Of course, sir. I have saved it to your folder, your back up folder, and your back up back up folder."

"That's my boy" Tony grinned "But seriously, you fell for that?"

"She could have been actually pregnant!" Clint pointed and Mia scoffed

"Really?" Rose snorted "I've been a player for years now. I think I understand the term 'contraceptive'"

This caused everyone to blush

"So you are not pregnant?" Thor asked

Steve sighed in relief

"Nope." she grinned "George gave me the idea. I think I'll send him the feed." she got up and stretched "Great day. I had a lot of fun" she grinned again and picked a pizza box "toodles"

"all hail the queen of pranks" Tony grinned

Rose heard it, turned around and did a mock bow as others scowled

"Better luck next time" she grinned and left

"I'm gonna show her next year" Clint muttered "Magic or not"

"We believe you" Mia replied with a smile, though her tone suggested she didn't. It's really hard to take a man covered in neon paint and glitter seriously

Tony played the movie and sat back and relaxed. Today had been eventful and one of the best April Fool's day

* * *


	18. Breathing Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes on a much-needed vacation. Hopefully, nothing will go wrong🤞🏼. Afterall it's just a vacation. What could go wrong?

It was a nice Saturday morning and the whole team had converged at the communal. Rose was making breakfast and others were sprawled on the sitting area. Clint looked tired, Tony almost asleep. Nat was sitting on the carpet, her head resting on Bruce's knee, eyes barely open, and looking at the TV. Others were just trying to keep up with the retelecast of some random show.

"I need a vacation"

That grabbed everyone's attention. Rose turned and looked at the team, breakfast was forgotten for a moment. Even Tony opened a single eye and looked at him

Clint sighed "I mean it. for the past three weeks, all we are doing are rescue missions, op missions, reconnaissance missions-"

"We get your point" Tony interrupted, grumbling, earning a frown from Clint before he sighed

"All I'm saying is, I'm tired and I need a vacation"

That wasn't entirely wrong of him to ask, though. Lately, Fury had been keeping the whole team-even Rose- on their toes with repeated missions. He seemed to think that leaving them alone and not busy would only make the Avengers do stupid stuff. For eg-turning into children (which as not exactly everyone's fault).

Fury had been in direct contact with Brittany Hughes (Rose nearly hexed him for contacting her PA. Her superhero life and corporate life were to be kept separate!) after Pepper refused to help him. Now he got her schedules and would occasionally send her to the missions as well. Tony or Pepper didn't like it at all, but they had to admit that excess work got her to rest more than she basically would.

Mia wasn't entirely okay with the idea, either. More missions meant more paperwork for her. And they weren't giving her a break!

"Aye, I second the motion" Thor nodded "We have been quite busy as of late"

"what do you wanna do? Bowling? 'Cause I don't think Fury will allow that" Nat replied, raising her head and looking at them

"But if we keep working, we are gonna be very tired for the upcoming missions" Tony argued, now awake "We might not even complete them"

"I agree. We need a break. A much-needed one at that" Steve nodded, earning weird looks from everyone. If Tony and Steve agreed on something, it was serious

Bruce cleared his throat "So, who's gonna talk to Fury? About the vacation"

Mia raised her brow from next to Thor "what is everyone looking at me for?"

"You are our handler" Clint offered

"So?"

"You are to represent us" Tony added

"So you want me to talk to the Pirate-Wannabe about getting the Avengers a vacation to where exactly?"

"Leave that to me" Rose smiled "Convince Fury. I'll cover the rest"

* * *

"So?" Bruce asked as Mia entered the communal in the evening. She flopped on the couch and sighed, looking over everyone

"We can go on a vacation but" she quickly added when Clint seemed like he was going to cheer "he laid some ground rules"

"Ground rules?" Thor asked

"Hmm-mm" Mia nodded "first, the place has to be quite desolate so in case one, or some of us, decide to go smashing stuff around, we won't around civilians. Second, no blowing up stuff that could show up on radar. Third, one call from Fury and vacay ends right there, with no complaints or 'five more minutes'. Fourth, no magical place, because right now Fury doesn't trust you lot with magic, especially with an untrained hedge wizard on the team. So, still want to go on a vacation?"

"What do you mean no magical place?" Clint whined, poker that he was playing with Steve, Nat and Tony, forgotten

"Never thought I'd say this, but Fury's right" Rose nodded, not looking away from her project simulations on her tab "You may have only a little magic, but you are still untrained in that segment of power. And if we go to a magical destination, the best case scenario-nothing happens. Worst case scenario-you blow up into smithereens"

Clint paled, mouth wide open "blow up into smithereens?" he repeated

"Untrained magic, no matter how little it is, reacts to emotions. And can be...uh...for the lack of a better term, explosive" Mia added, "that's why magical kids are given seven years to train their magic."

"Glad we cleared that out" Nat muttered "So where are we going? No one says Coney Island"

"Rose, ideas?" Steve asked

Rose finally looked at them, closed her tab, and moved her glasses to the top of her head "I own this island near Puerto Rico-"

"Yes!" Clint cheered, a big stupid grin on his face "Tropical island, here come the Avengers!"

* * *

The quinjet slowly landed on the beach sand. The hatch opened and everyone walked out

"Welcome to Île d'émeraude" Rose smiled as they all stepped onto the sand and looked around

"what?"

"French" Mia provided "Emerald Island"

"I'm in love with this place!" Clint exclaimed, jogging out, puppies on his tail

"You haven't even seen it completely" Tony laughed

Others came out slowly looking around the beautiful island and crystal sea

"It's beautiful" Nat smiled "when did you buy it?"

"I didn't. My godfather owned it" Rose replied

"Rhodey?" Bruce asked

Rose shook her head with a smile "My other godfather. Magical one"

"Ah" Nat nodded

"After he died, I got this place. I come here sometimes when I need a break and want to spend some time alone" Rose added

"How often do you come here?" Bruce asked

"Very little. I haven't been here in about 2 years"

Mia groaned, stretching, as she climbed out of the quinjet "It's good to be back"

"You've been here?" Steve asked

"Once or twice." Mia shrugged

"Come on. I'll show you where we'll be staying"

"Hera. Zeus. Come on" Mia called when she noticed the pups entranced by a crab. They barked once before following the group

"If I have said it once, I've said it a million times. I. love. this. Place!"

Everyone laughed at the overexcited Clint

"Did he get on sugar or something?" Mia asked, skeptically

"Nah" Nat chuckled "He just has episodes of insanity. You guys are unfortunate enough to witness one"

"Rosie!"

Rose turned and looked at the archer

"How much will you sell it for?"

Rose laughed "Clint, no offense hon, it's way out of your paygrade"

"No seriously!" Clint demanded. It didn't matter. He'll pay in EMIs if he has to, but he loved the island! it was beautiful, secluded and completely safe

Rose shrugged "I have to ask my accountant"

"Roughly?"

Rose made a thinking face "Roughly...say, $60 million."

Clint gaped at her

"Private islands are expensive, Clint" Tony added, clapping Clint on the back "come on. Let's get your rooms"

Tony and Rose led them to the only property on the island

"A castle? A real castle?" Bruce blinked

"Yup," Rose grinned, opening the huge doors and letting them all in. The castle was built by Sirius' grandfather's great uncle, who originally had brought the island.

"Seems ancient" Steve looked around the lobby

"Takes one to know one, huh" Tony smirked over his shoulder and Steve frowned

"Real funny, Tony" he deadpanned

"It was built somewhere around the 16th century. So, a lot of stuff here's antique" Rose explained

"Antique, huh?" Clint asked, picking a sword from one of the wall decorations "So how much will this bid for if I auctioned it?"

"I don't know and you are going to do no such thing" Rose snapped, snatching the sword from Clint and putting it back

"This place was in Rose's godfather's family for generations before it came to her. Let's not do anything stupid that might get you hexed from her" Mia suggested

Nat walked forward and pulled Clint with her, ignoring his complaints "Where're the rooms?"

* * *

The castle had three floors and numerous rooms. Many of which were locked for years. Rose and Tony showed others the extra bedrooms. Once everyone chose their rooms Rose excused herself and got to the kitchen. Kreacher had cleaned the place quite well. Spotless.

Rose smiled. He deserved praise and a reward

She switched on the coffee machine and then moved to the quinjet to get the pantry stuff. It took her one trip to move everything. She was just stocking the fridge when others came in the kitchen

"I was looking around and found a lot of rooms here are locked," Nat said, "How come?"

Rose shrugged, cutting some fruits "I don't know. I never went Sherlock Holmes on this place. And knowing my god father's family, I'd rather not"

"You are speaking like there's a monster here or something dangerous" Clint scoffed, taking a slice of apple as did others

"Well, I'll never put them past his family," she replied, putting an apple slice into her mouth

"for all we know, there could be a ghost or two in some locked room" Mia added, sipping on some coffee

"You are jesting us" Thor argued

"Nope" both the witches replied

Tony chuckled "So what's the plan?"

"What all can we go here?" Steve asked

"Basic beach stuff. There's a tennis court (Sirius Black's courtesy), cliff-diving...um..."

"snorkeling" Mia offered

"That I'm not sure of" Rose added "It's a bit of migration time for fishes. Though, I can work something out"

"You know, let's just rest and unpack for today. We are here for quite a time. We have plenty of time to do a lot of things"

* * *

It was mid-morning and Thor, Bruce, and Steve were setting the barbeque, beach-chairs, and basic stuff. They had changed into some casual cotton shirts and shorts.

"I'm taking full credit for this vacation" Clint came out, grinning, carrying a freezer

"I'm pretty sure someone would have brought it up, if not you" Steve argued

"Yeah yeah" Clint waved them off and placed the freezer on the sand next to the chairs

Tony came out next carrying all the stuff required for a nice barbeque

"I don't agree with Whistler completely. Mia convinced One-Eyed Willy" Tony added

"she gets bigger credit" Bruce chuckled

Clint scoffed "Whatever" he looked at Tony "What all we got?"

"Steak, pork, chicken, hot dogs...fish, kebabs" Tony replied "yup, that's all I got"

Then came the girls. the three of them were carrying large trays while talking and laughing.

Nat was wearing a tropical print halterneck bikini top and high waisted boyshorts. Her hair was loose and a pair of sunglasses on her nose.

Mia had changed into a white bandeau, blue denim shorts and a sheer flannel unbuttoned on top with a straw hat. her rich brown hair was up down in a loose messy braid with a scarf woven with it.

Finally, Rose had changed into a sheer white mini dress over her purple and blue printed bikini. Her gradient hair was up in a top bun quite messily and a pair of reflective sunglasses on top of her head with big seashell hoop earrings

"there you go" Mia announced, keeping her tray near the barbeque and looked at the stuff other two girls were carrying "hot dog buns, burger buns, and some bread. We also got salads, pasta, sauce, fruits, cutlery...and ice cream"

"You girls are angels" Clint grinned, grabbing a piece of fruit

"Agree to disagree" Nat replied while the other two snorted

Soon they got the grill started and Tony and Bruce took up to them for the barbeque.

"Food will take time" Bruce declared

"Anyone heading for the sea?" Clint asked removing his ridiculous Hawaiin shirt(it was bright cerulean blue with yellow flowers; Nat had cringed when she saw it and barely managed from tearing it into shreds). He had a perfectly chiseled body for a man his size. Though Clint had a leaner and athletic stature-his job demanded that- he was still quite good looking. There were a few scars on his body, but who on the team didn't-except, Steve. Damn the super-soldier serum.

"I'm in" Rose stood up and quite literally dragged the other two girls with her. Mia had removed her sheer shirt and denim shorts. Steve and Thor came with them too, once they removed the extra clothing. Tony was called, but he denied saying he wasn't sure how seawater would react with the arc reactor. Rose gave him a soft smile. She knew the real reason why he was avoiding the sea-Afghanistan Incident

The six had quite fun in the water. swimming, pulling, and pushing each other. They even played tug. It was a girls v/s boys, but despite having a demi-god and super-soldier, the girls won. Nat was still teasing the boys about that. Clint argued that it had something to do with having two witches on the team. And their bickering started.

Tony chuckled as he looked at the group

"why does it feel like we are the parents for the day?" Bruce asked amused

Tony grinned at him "Dibs on Daddy"

Bruce chuckled and shook his head "So, Dad, do make sure the pups don't go too deep"

Tony looked at Hera and Zeus who were trying to attempt to go into the sea. It was probably the first time the pups were seeing a beach and ocean. They'd chase every wave that'd go inside but once it'd come closer, they run away

"Hey!" Tony called over the gang approaching the pups "Why don't you introduce the pups to the awesomeness of the sea?"

Mia came and carried both the pups in her arms to where the group was. Clint took Zeus from her and slowly the two placed the pups in the water, providing them the needed support. Soon the pups got the hang of it and started swimming around, chasing around the team and playing when needed

"Food's ready!" Bruce hollered

Picking the pups, the six made their way back to the beach. Pups shook themselves dry and headed for the food Bruce had placed in their bowls. Rose quickly overthrew her wet white dress, since it was making her uncomfortable and sat down for lunch Tony had handed her

"Rosie?"

"Hmm?"

"Is that a tattoo?"

Rose stopped chewing and looked at Clint and followed his gaze. He was looking at the tattoo which was just above her left breast curve. It was a medium-sized red lily flower with green leaves.

"Uh..yeah." she nodded

"How long have you had it?" Clint narrowed his eyes "And how come we have ever seen it before?"

Clint (and others) had seen her in strapless tops, spaghetti tops, tank tops, even bikini once before, but he had never seen the tattoo. And it was quite big to hide

"I have had it for..about 6 years. One of my first tattoos. As for not seeing it, I keep them hidden" Rose mentally berated herself. The gold studs she wore all the time had glamor charms on them so her tattoos would remain hidden (or she'd use a temporary glamor spell). Why did she think it was a good idea to remove them for the vacation? Not to mention, she forgot te glamor spell!

"What's the point of hiding such beautiful pieces of body artwork?" Thor asked

Rose sighed "They are all personal. The last thing I want is for media and paparazzi to question and criticize me further"

"So, what's that supposed to mean?" Nat asked, pointing her fork

Rose looked down at her tattoo "My mum's name was Lily. I got it done in her memory." what she didn't add was that there were the names Lily&James written in cursive along the borders of the flower. They were made from special ink and could only be seen under UV light. Tony was her father, but she knew that her mother's heart belonged to James Potter.

"What about others?" Nat asked

"How many do you have?" Bruce asked

"A few" Rose shrugged and turned to show her ribcage. On the right side was an asterisk of sorts with different symbols on different line ends

"It's a Norse rune!" Thor exclaimed

"Yes, it is" Rose smiled "I used to get hurt a lot in school days, so I got it done. It helps me with healing, fertility, defense, better control of my magic and mind magic"

"All in one?" Steve asked

Rose grinned "I like multitasking."

"Can we get it done?" Nat asked, eyeing the quite small tattoo

Rose shook her head "Sorry. Norse runes need magic to be activated. I think the only other person that can get it done on the team is Clint. His teensie bit of magic should be able to power the rune"

"Note to self. Get that tattoo done as soon as we head back to New York" Clint raised his fork and nodded to himself

"You do know, it hurts, right?" Mia asked, raising a brow "Your skin is pierced by thousands of injections at the same time"

Clint gave them a look

"I got a few more" Rose smiled and turned a little more. On her right arm, just above the elbow was a long symbol tattoo joining almost up to her shoulder

"That's Star Trek" Bruce blinked "You got a tattoo from a movie series?"

Rose shrugged "Dad and I used to geek out over Star Trek" she grinned "and then dad & I got into a bet"

"which I lost" Tony scoffed showing his left arms where a similar tattoo was there on the same place, just smaller in length "And as a result, had to get a tattoo"

"After that, he never made bets with me" Rose grinned

"So if I were to make a bet with you" Clint started "and I lose, will you make me get a tattoo?"

"Depends" Rose shrugged "Dad's scared of needles. So, tattoos for him. I'll make you do what scares you the most" Rose grinned and winked at Clint

"that's for letting an unknown fact about me be revealed" Tony deadpanned, though there wasn't any heat in that

"Then there is this" Rose showed her left wrist, where there was a small tattoo-a line and a circle within a triangle

"Deathly hallows" Rose almost deadpanned. It was the only 'tattoo' she had not gotten from a parlor. Instead, the symbol had just appeared on her wrist.

"The last one's this" she smiled showing her back. There was a quote written a few inches below the nape of her neck in cursive

"A lion doesn't lose sleep on the opinions of the sheep" Thor read

"Yup" Rose sat back relaxed, resuming to eat "helps me deal with the criticism, bad press and peoples' opinions on me"

"Anyone else got any interest in getting their bodies pierced by tiny needles?" Tony asked

"Actually, " Nat started "I have one too"

"You do?" Clint blinked at her "why did you never tell me?"

Nat shrugged with a smile "You never asked" She twisted her left leg and showed her inner ankle where there were two intertwined circles and an A in the one of the circle

"Who's A?" Bruce asked

Nat fixed him a look "Not telling"

"Oh, mystery lover." Tony nodded "someone you know, Barton?"

Clint shrugged "I didn't even know she had one"

Rose and Nat shared a look. She knew who exactly A was.

"Talking of tattoos," Rose began "I was hoping to talk to you guys about something."

"You want us all to get a tattoo?" Steve guessed "All of us?"

"Sure" Rose smiled and raising her right index finger drew a figure in the air. It was a stylized A with an arrow and a 7 intertwined.

"Steve came with the design" Rose added

"You asked for a team logo" Steve looked at her

"I did and I meant that" Rose nodded "But in about a fortnight we mark our first anniversary. I thought we could do something as a team, to commemorate it"

The seven Avengers looked at the design and exchanged glances

"I'm down for it" Nat replied

"Yeah, sure. one's better than two" Clint added "I'm getting that rune one anyway"

"What's one more?" Tony shrugged "I'm in"

"Well," Thor boomed "If my fellow warriors think this is a wise decision, then I shall get this tattoo as well"

"I'm already in." Rose crumbled the paper plate and tossed in the dustbin

"You two?" Mia looked at Bruce and Steve

"You don't want one?" Bruce looked at Mia

"Nope. Not interested in piercing my body with needles and fill ink in them, however, that works" Mia shrugged "Besides, I'm not an Avenger. I know it"

"This doesn't sound very bad" Steve shrugged "I'm in"

"Would it be bad if I backed out?" Bruce nervously asked

"Bruce?" Nat asked,

"I mean..." Bruce began "What if I...the Other Guy comes out during the tattoo?"

"We can overdose you with Calming draught" Clint suggested

"We'd rather not take that risk" Mia tsked

Bruce shrugged "I'm good without one"

"Whatever you say, Brucie"

* * *

The next two days went in quite a blur. To say, the Avengers+Mia enjoyed those days to the most. They played numerous beach games, went swimming in the quieter channels, cooked various stuff, and enjoyed. What none of them did was work. It looked like the puppies were also enjoying the vacation

One evening Rose found Steve on the beach around some rocks with his sketchpad. She quietly walked behind him and looked over his shoulder. he was drawing the sunset, which was almost complete. And it was beautiful.

"It's gorgeous"

"Jesus!" Steve jumped and almost knocked out his paints and brushes

Rose snickered but quickly shut up when Steve looked at her

"Sorry. Didn't mean too" Rose smiled innocently

Steve narrowed his eyes "Is it still about your dress?"

A few days after the Prank Day, Thor had let him quietly know that Rose was the one to vanish his clothes after he painted on her super expensive dress. Though his clothes had returned two days later in his wardrobe the way they were, he had a feeling that Rose was still not over him spray-painting her closet

"Not at all" Rose smiled and sat on the sand and smiled at him "why would you think so?"

"Uh...just got the feeling" Steve muttered

Rose smiled and looked at the sunset and pulled her knees closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees

"It's always beautiful out here" she smiled.

"It is" Steve nodded "Maybe we should have built a base here"

Rose chuckled and looked at Steve "We could have. But then there isn't pizza here. And you know, it's our comfort food, emergency food, dinner-gone-bad substitute"

Steve chuckled "Clint would have a nervous breakdown"

"Or a cardiac arrest"

Steve laughed "Or both"

Rose chuckled then took a deep breath "You wanna see something worth capturing in the paper?"

"something better than this sunset?"

"Way better"

She stood up and dusted the sand off her cotton shorts "Come on"

Steve stood up and started packing his art supplies

"Just leave them here. they're not going anywhere"

Steve agreed and stood up

"So, where is this place?"

Rose smiled over her shoulder "Want me to tell you everything right now? Relax"

She led him towards the trees and entered.

"sure we should be going in the wild region bare feet?"

Rose shrugged "Since when are you scared of tiny thorns?"

"Usually these thorns hurt more"

Rose hummed "We'll be fine"

She led him deeper into the forest region. it took another five minutes before she looked at him again

"We are here"

Steve came to stand next to her and his eyes widened. The place was beautiful. On the other side were small cliffs with a couple of waterfalls. And under the waterfall was the most beautiful emerald green lake he had ever seen. The water was crystal clear and he could see the lakebed. the trees around were bloomed with bright red flowers. The place looked very serene.

"It's truly beautiful" Steve breathed. Now he understood why the island was called Emerald Island.

Rose chuckled and exhaled

Steve looked at her "Thanks for showing me"

Rose scoffed "It's not like you are family or something, are you?"

Steve raised a brow

"Like said once earlier. You are part of the family. You should be introduced to our traditions"

"If only I could draw this" Steve whispered

"Why don't you?"

Steve looked down at her and she looked at the rock below, where he found all his art supplies, causing him to chuckle

Rose patted his back "Get to work, soldier"

Steve gave her a look, which got a laugh from her. She climbed on one of the higher rocks and settled comfortably, back resting on a tree. She folded her arms under her head and closed her eyes. Steve sat down on one of the lower rocks and began drawing

Steve had no idea how long he stayed there drawing, but he knew it had been quite long. When they had arrived, the sun was about to touch the horizon. Now he could tell that not only had the sunset taken place, but it was going to be dark soon.

A shuffling of the bushes behind him got his attention. They were told that they were the only inhabitants of the island. So it had to be someone from the team. And then Nat appeared

"Hey"

"Hey" she smiled and approached him "You were here for long"

"It's beautiful out here" Steve replied, "how did you find us?"

"Us?" Nat raised a brow

Steve looked at the direction where Rose was sleeping. She had dozed off a few minutes after finding a perfect perch. Her body was still in that position and something told him she was gonna have bad neck ache when she'll wake up

"Oh," Nat muttered and sat down next to him, "Tony told me. He listed a few places on this island where Rose would have gone. I wasn't expecting you here with her"

"she showed me this place" Steve replied before looking at her "How long were we gone?"

"About two hours." she looked at him amused

"What?" he asked, dreading the amused look

"Just...when Clint found out that you two were missing, he took advantage of the situation. He suggested that...um...you were with her, which is true,"

"but?"

Nat chuckled "He actually joked that you were having your way with her"

Steve's eyes widened and he could feel his face going red as he looked away. Good thing, it was almost dark. The bad thing, it was Black Widow in front of him.

"Bruce flashed a little green skin and Tony smacked him with a pan. It was quite funny. Too bad the castle doesn't have cameras" Nat looked at him, lips quirked and eyes narrowed "Nothing like that happened, right?"

Steve frowned at her, face still warm and red "N-No. Nothing"

Nat hummed and then stood up "Why don't you head back to the castle. I'll get Rose"

Steve nodded, gathered his art supplies and left as Nat headed for Rose

"Hey, Rose" she muttered and then shook her. She woke up rather quickly

"What?" she muttered, sleepily, rubbing the sleep off her face

"It's dark. Time to head back"

Rose nodded and got up, yawning and stretching

"Where's Steve?"

"Left already"

"Hmm. Why's my neck hurting?"

* * *

Next day, the whole team was in the kitchen having breakfast when Rose rushed in

"Where were you?" Mia asked

"Getting a job done" she replied, taking a seat "Not SI"

"What job?" Thor asked

"I got us green lights for snorkeling today. For the next few days, actually. So, who's up for it?"

An hour after breakfast found the Avengers and Mia on top of the highest cliffs on the other side of the island

"Ugh..." Bruce looked uneasy at the sea "How deep is the drop?"

"65 feet" Rose replied "And that's the sea, about 50 feet. So, safe"

"Who here hasn't ever done cliff diving?" Clint asked

Only Steve and Bruce raised their hands

"wow" Clint spoke, "Aren't you both charming?"

"Cut it out, Legolas" Rose walked closer to the edge "There's always a first time for everything"

"Besides, Cap jumps from jets. He'll be fine." Mia added

Clint shrugged "Who's first?"

No replies

"Oh for the love of God" Rose rolled her eyes, trying her pink hair into a tight bun. She pulled her mask (a new invention by SI that can convert oxygen present in the water into breathable oxygen acting like a pair of artificial gills of sorts. Only that it covered the lower half of the face) and took a few steps back. then she ran and jumped, screaming in excitement all the way. She changed her pose before hitting the water and entered with her hands extended in front of her head with perfection.

A few seconds later, a little dot of pink poked from the water

"It's great!"

Everyone chuckled. Nat went next, then Clint. Then Thor, who created quite a big splash

"What about you two?" Steve asked

"I'll be getting the boat," Tony said

"I'm going with him" Bruce quickly added and the two older scientists vanished. Mia and Steve exchanged a look

"After you, Cap" Mia smiled

Steve took a few steps before jumping too. And just when he had started enjoying the fall, he entered the sea. Rose was right, it was great.

He swam to the surface and looked at others. A few minutes later Mia joined them all

"You were right" he looked at Mia "It wasn't that different"

"told you" Mia smiled

A few minutes later, Tony and Bruce appeared in a white speedboat. Tony placed the anchor near the cliff before he too pulled the mask and jumped in the water, Bruce following his lead. Rose had given them both a dose of calming draught and she personally was keeping an eye on Tony, should he have any panic attack

They spent the next five hours underwater. Looking at the corals, tropical fishes, and the basic marine life. Mia had charmed two ordinary cameras to work underwater. So Bruce and Clint were taking pictures. And thanks to the masks, they didn't have to worry about running out of oxygen or heavy oxygen cylinders.

After that, the seven went back to the castle to have food and relax. Tony pulled a few movies he had brought along and revealed a huge TV in one of the rooms. Following the dinner and movie night, the seven retired to their rooms and called it a night

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Rose stumbled and fell off her bed.

"Ow!" She winced, rubbing her head. Someone had screamed at the top of their lungs

"What time is it?" she groggily got up and looked at her phone-3AM

Grumbling, she opened the room's door and came out into the hallway. The door next to her opened and Tony stepped out, yawning. Then came Bruce, Mia, Steve, and then Thor

"What is happening?" Thor frowned. Clearly his beauty sleep was disturbed

"I heard screaming" Steve added, stepping completely into the hallway

"Us too, Cap" Rose replied

Bruce looked around "Where're Clint and Nat?"

Not finding them, the four walked to Clint's room, which was empty

"Check Widow's" Tony muttered, opening the door to Nat's room and the five stopped at the doorway. Nat and Clint were huddled on the bed, holding onto each other. A certain arrow was being aimed. But what was surprising and shocking were the two almost invisible beings floating next to them, dressed in victorian Era clothes

Rose and Mia exchanged a look

"Eddy, Missy, cut it out, please," Rose said

The two ghosts(?) stopped terrorizing the two spies and looked at the speaker.

They were inhumanly pale. Their eyes were plain white with no life in them. The female ghost even had dried blood on her chest. In all, they looked quite scary and right out of some horror movie

"Oh," Eddy said, straightening up, as his look changed into more of a man. Missy followed. Their eyes became more human and they appeared less scary

Eddy nervously chuckled, lowering his voice as low as possible, but still audible " 'Tis awkward"

"Rose" Missy said a bit nervous, guilty and amused "We didn't know you were here"

"I didn't feel like meeting with my friends around" she replied

"Your friends?" Eddy looked at the two spies on the bed "These are your friends?"

"They are" Mia nodded

"Why, hello Hermione" Eddy smiled and did a small bow, finally noticing the brunette witch

"Hello" Mia smiled

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

All the heads turned towards Clint, who looked on the verge of a panic attack and passing out

Rose took out a small vial of calming draught and brought it to Clint

"These are Eduardus and Misapinoa" Rose introduced "My godfather's ancestors."

"and ghosts" Bruce deadpanned

"Yeah" Mia nodded

"So you two weren't joking?" Steve asked

"Of course not." Rose replied "Eddy and Missy mind heir own business and usually don't terrorize people, do they?" she narrowed her eyes at the ghosts

"Certainly not," Eddy looked at Steve with a soft smile "We just haunt this place and keep it to ourselves"

"But you see over the years, it gets a bit lonely out here" Missy added, "Can you blame us for seeking some fun?"

"I don't think giving Clint an almost heart attack is fun, Missy" Mia folded her arms

"Of course," Missy looked at Clint "We sincerely apologize for that, dear young man. We were just plotting on having a nice time. Clearly we are getting rusty"

"I wouldn't say that" Nat muttered, her voice seemingly back to normal and she wasn't shaking anymore

"What did you do?" Rose looked at Clint

"What?" Clint asked, color finally returning to his face

"I locked Eddy and Missy in the west wing of the castle, solely for this reason. They wouldn't have come out if you hadn't done anything"

"Ugh.." Clint rubbed his head

"You went snooping around" Rose frowned, "I told you not to do that"

"I thought it'd be interesting!" Clint argued back

"Was it?" Mia asked, now frowning

"Hell no!" Clint jumped to his feet "These two scared the fuckin' shit out of me!"

Rose looked at the two ghosts

"Don't look at us" Missy replied "We didn't think that he'd be scared so easily. You didn't tell them about us?"

"We did" Rose snorted "Mia and I warned them that there are ghosts in the house. But only if they listened"

"Are you both stuck here?" Thor asked "Some unfinished business?"

"Not at all, young Prince of Asgard" Eddy chuckled "I, merely, am the original owner of this island and the castle you are currently staying in. After being disowned from my family, I brought this place as a safe haven for myself."

"What about you?" Tony looked at Missy. He had known of the ghosts, but never seen or met them.

Missy scoffed "Those pureblood arses, my so-called wretched family. Caused me all kinds of pain and grief for marrying the love of my life. But of course, I don't expect those vazey blood obsessed arses to understand what true love feels like" she pulled an equally pale handkerchief from her gown's pocket and wiped her (fake) tears and sniffed "Disowned me and threw me out for marrying my love, my husband." she let out a sob and sniffed again "After my loving husband died, I had nowhere to go. Then Uncle Eduardus sent me a letter and let me stay here." She sniffed and snorted "I spent rest of my life here and still am, after my death"

Everyone looked at Tony, who looked like he greatly regretted asking Missy about it.

"Uh...happens" was all Tony managed to say "Blacks have that reputation"

"They sure do" Eddy grimly nodded and rubbed Missy's shoulder in sympathy

"Well, more like did" Rose added

"Pardon?" Eddy looked at rose and raised a brow. Missy also looked interested

Rose bit her lower lip "Black family's main bloodline ended with Sirius. He was the last of Blacks"

"Your godfather?" Eddy asked

"He was your cousin as well, wasn't he?" Missy asked

"Distant one, but yeah sure. But still" she shrugged, sighed and got up "Let's get you back to your rooms"

"Do we have to?" Eddy almost pouted, which looked weird on a ghost

"I'll let you out when we would be leaving. Promise." she smiled "Come on. Enough terrorizing for tonight. I don't think they'll watch any horror movie soon. Come on"

Others separated as Rose made her way out of the room, Eddy, and Missy following her

For a moment Eddy stopped to address the group "It was delightful to meet you all. though Misapinoa and I apologize from the cores of our hearts for what entailed. It was a...what is it the word as of late...yes!...cool experience" he did a bow and tipped his hat "I hope to see you lot once more, of course, if young Rose permits" he grinned and then left

"wow," Bruce breathed and nervously chuckled "That was some experience!"

"Easy for you to say!" Clint frowned "You didn't go through what I went through. I think I'll need a fuckin' therapy!"

"What did they do?" Steve asked, a bit amused as Clint flushed. Mia gave Nat another vial of calming draught and the Russian quietly drank it

Clint shook his head "I was sleeping, nicely for a change. My comforter is removed. Thrice. Then someone pulled my leg and almost threw me on the floor. And then I hear weird creepy laughing and...and..a-and...Eddy comes out, scaring shit outta me. I shot him, but it went right through him"

"He's dead, Clint" Tony deadpanned

"then I rushed to Nat's room" Clint continued as if not interrupted "And she called my bluff!" Clint frowned at Nat

"What did you expect me to do when you barge into my room in the middle of the night, screaming rubbish about ghosts? I thought you were pulling one on me, especially after Rose and Mia mentioned the possibility of ghosts in the castle" Nat rolled her eyes

"Not rubbish now, was it?" Clint folded his arms with a frown

Nat snorted

"And then Missy joined the party" Clint grumbled, "It was too much!"

"Can't Rose get rid of the ghosts?" Nat asked

"Only if it were that easy as you think" Mia replied "Eddy brought this place and built the castle. He can't be removed. And Missy ain't going anywhere unless Eddy tells her so. Besides, we are staying at their place, you know"

"Mia" Clint stood up and faced Mia with a very serious expression-one rarely seen on Clint-"Eddy and Missy are dead. Dead. D-E-A-D. Dead. Their claim on this place ended with them. Rose owns this place now. Rose, who's alive. How the fuck does Eddy still own this place?"

Mia shrugged "Rose lets them stay. I don't complain"

"And don't let them hear you complain" Rose added, joining them "Eddy'd be hurt and Missy...uh...she's quite"

"drama queen?" Tony supplied

"Can you blame her?" Rose shrugged "Anyway, I think it's enough adventure of a while. Let's go to bed"

"uh-uh," Clint settled in Nat's bed "I'm not sleeping anymore. Not alone. Nuh-uh"

"What do you mean, Barton?" Thor asked, tired. He could tell they all wanted to go back to bed, all but Barton who seemed to be still on an adrenaline high

"I'm sleeping with Rose. That's it, final" Clint closed his eyes, arms crossed and visibly stubborn

At once there was a mixture of reactions. Tony and Bruce were gaping. Steve and Mia looked horrified. Thor chocked on phlegm. Nat looked a mix of amusement and horror. Rose looked aghast at the statement and the way it sounded

"Won't be the first time" Clint added after god knows what thought

"What?!" Bruce and Tony demanded at once, breaking everyone's' stupor

clint opened his eyes and looked at the two pissed looking scientists

"What?" he asked, a bit confused

"What the fuck do you mean you are sleeping with my daughter?" Tony demanded, voice quite slow and calm. And everyone knew that if Tony used that tone, one better run for the farthest hills.

Rose was still shocked enough at the blunt statement to comment any further

"And how many has it happened?" Bruce asked, eyes flashing green for a split second

Clint frowned before looking at everyone. Nat held back a snicker and Clint realized what he had said

"NO!" he screamed, jumping to his feet "It's not like that! Just sleeping. Sharing a bed. That's it. I swear! Come on! She's like my little sister!"

"When was the last time?" Bruce asked again, the green-ness gone but an edge in his voice

"When she was sick and couldn't sleep. I just slept next to her to give her company. Ask Steve! he came to check on her and saw us. Nothing happened like that!"

Tony frowned. He knew about Barton's wife and kids(Rose could never keep a secret from him) but Clint was known to be suave and flirty. Not that Clint was unloyal or something, but he knew that men cannot be trusted, especially around young beautiful women.

"He's not lying" Steve added, after a second and rubbed the back of his neck nervously

Bruce scoffed. He knew that Clint flirted a lot around so he wouldn't put it past Clint to attempt to get in Rose's pants. He had not been kidding when he had said that Rose was a niece to him. He meant it. Clint was one of his good friends but no way was he letting Barton around Rose. And like those rarer times, Hulk seemed to be agreeing.

"Share my room" Bruce offered

"Uhm..." Clint cleared his throat and shuffled

Bruce's eyes flashed green

"Okay!" Clint almost jumped and rushed out towards Bruce's room

"Well, I had my quota of awkward and hilarious. I'm going to bed" Mia declared

"You can sleep in my room if you want" Rose offered Nat

"I'm good. I'll let you know if something happens"

"Okay"

Rose closed the door and stretched "Don't wake me up tomorrow. I'm gonna sleep in"

"Would your ancestors be returning, Rose?" Thor asked

"Not tonight" Rose smiled softly "good night, guys" she entered her room and closed the door

"Okay. I'm sleepy" Tony added and left

And others followed

* * *

It had been about 8 days since the team got to the island. Clint and Thor were cooking dinner. Bruce was relaxing on the sand. Steve had found a new hobby of sand sculpting. Tony was using Rose's lap as his pillow as the two were on the porch of the castle. Nat and Mia were gathering some fruits from the only garden near the castle.

The two had gotten closer since the mishap. And Nat was not the only one. Mia was now the part of the team, the family.

Rose looked up from her novel when she heard Nat and Mia approaching, fruit baskets in hand. She often wondered in the past 8 days, that when not working, no one could tell any of them had any super-powers. and it just made her smile.

Nat threw guava at Rose, which she caught.

"What are you reading?" Nat asked

"Just something I found in the library" she replied, "and I also fou-"

Rose was cut off when Mia's phone rang. The three girls exchanged a look of trepidation. Oh how much they hated that sound now!

"Well, answer it" Rose prompted

Mia grunted and answered the call "...yes?...right now?...30 minutes...okay"

"So?" Nat asked

"There's an attack on the city. Some mutant animals the size of houses. They need the Avengers" Mia sighed

"I'll get Clint and Thor" Nat noted, but no one missed the sadness in her voice

"I'll start packing" Mia followed inside

Rose sighed and kept her novel down "Dad?"

"I know. I heard it. Give me a second" he got up, stretched "I'll get the suit"

Rose sighed. Sometimes she really wished Fury would understand that they deserved a normal life too. But being the asshole he was, she sighed again and got up

"Boys!" she called, grabbing their attention "Fury called. Time for work"

* * *


	19. Tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past.”  
> ― Jack London

The first thing that Bruce noticed that very morning was an eerie feeling. He couldn't put a finger on it, but something wasn't right. Something in his gut told him that. And he had long since learned to listen to his gut.

By the time he had gotten his second cup of coffee and newspaper, Steve returned from his morning run and Nat walked in, half asleep. While letting the coffee to be made, Nat started preparing for breakfast. Thor filtered in. about 30 minutes later, Steve returned to the communal, freshly showered and Nat sent him to get Clint who was still sleeping.

the two returned after a few minutes and Nat started serving out the breakfast

"What's this?" Clint sleepily poked the food on his plate

"Cheddar, bacon and spinach egg casserole" Nat muttered

Clint hummed

It was then Bruce noticed the lack of Starks (not a surprise) and Mia. Okay, that's weird; the three being absent at the same time. And he didn't remember Mia telling him, or anyone, that she would be going out. and it wasn't like her to sleep in so long.

"Are the Starks not coming?" Thor asked

Bruce furrowed his brows. Okay, Tony would have at least vaguely mentioned something if he was heading out.

"and Mia?" Steve added "She wasn't in her room"

"You didn't hear it? Last night?" Clint asked, now seemingly wide awake

"Hear what?" Bruce asked

Clint blinked

"They live two floors down, Clint. They wouldn't have" Nat muttered

Bruce looked at her in suspicion. Sure he chose the lowermost of the living floor, just in case and it was closer to the labs. Thor and Steve lived above his floor; Thor wasn't around much so he opted not to have a whole floor for himself. Then were the spies, over them, below Mia. The top was Tony and Rose below him, above Mia's floor.

"Did something happen last night?" Steve asked, worried

"Last night, around midnight, Rose screamed awake."

Bruce's eyebrows hit his hairline. he shared a worried glance with Thor and Steve before looking at Clint to continue

"She woke me up. I first thought it was Nat, so I went to check on her. She was fine, but then Rose screamed again so we rushed to her floor to check it out"

"She was screaming her guts out" Nat added, sympathy and worry very very audible "If I didn't know better, I'd have said she was getting murdered or something"

Okay, it wasn't like Rose. If one thing they all knew about the Starks- they both hated being vulnerable in front of everyone but each other and the people they trusted the most.

"She was having night terrors?" Thor asked before Bruce could

"We guess" Nat responded "When we went there, she was full-blown crying and..." she exhaled "Tony was holding her, rubbing her back. Mia and Pepper were there too. They were telling her stuff, trying to calm her down. I swear, I've never seen Pepper or Tony so worried."

"Rose looked worse than any of us would have ever seen. She was latched on Tony like he was her lifeline." Clint inhaled sharply. Rose was his little sister in all but blood. and it worried him to see her so broken. Worried him that he couldn't help her

Nat wasn't better either. Rose was one of the strongest people on the planet. And to see her like that, afraid of mere dreams, it stirred something inside her. Something she would never like to feel ever again.

"When Pepper saw us, she asked us to give them a little space. We came back to our rooms. We don't know what happened after that" Clint continued

"I went to check on Rose early morning. Her room was empty. So was Tony and Pepper's" Nat said "I tried asking JARVIS, but he assured me that they were all fine and needed some time and space"

It was abrupt. But then when it came to Rose, Tony would drop anything and everything to help her. So it wasn't surprising that the two left in the middle of the night, following what apparently happened. Mia and Pepper weren't a surprise either. They both were extremely loyal to both the Starks

"Bruce?!"

"huh?"

Bruce found everyone looking at him

"You okay?" Nat asked

"Yeah. Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?"

"Did Tony ever mention something about Rose's nightmares?" Clint asked

"Uh..No. No, he didn't. Trust me, I'm just as shocked and surprised as you all are"

"Midnight, you say, Barton" Thor made a thinking face "Does 2nd of May mark any importance?"

Bruce thought. None that came to his mind. others were equally clueless

"That's not even that worries me," Nat said with a grunt "Rose is an occlumens. She shouldn't be this traumatized with nightmares"

"Rose is what?" Bruce asked

"Occlumens" Nat repeated "Magical people who have strong mental barriers. They are incredible at compartmentalizing their emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Occlumens usually don't suffer from nightmares. And for how long I've known her, this has never happened"

Steve bit his lower lip, pushing his food around his plate. He knew that he wasn't the only one on the team who suffered from bad nightmares. There had been instances where he woke up in the middle of the night, hyperventilating and sweating. Mostly they were from the second World war and the time he lost Bucky, but some of them even had to do with the alien invasion. usually, he woke up thinking of Bucky and taking his name and a thought struck him

"Was she saying something?" he asked. He hoped, if she did, it would help the team figure out what caused her to scream in sleep

Clint and Nat exchanged a look

"Guys?" Steve prodded

Nat pressed her lips in a line and Clint exhaled

"She just kept on repeating one thing." Clint said " _' He killed him. He killed her. He killed them'_. Just kept on repeating it"

"Who are those?" Thor asked

"We don't know" Nat replied

"Did anyone in her family get..." Bruce inhaled sharply "murdered?"

"That's the thing" Clint replied "We don't know anything about her family other than Tony and Weasleys. Last I checked, they all were pretty alive"

"She wouldn't say something like that out of context" Steve added "Bruce is right. Something happened that caused that reaction. Something that happened years ago but still terrorizes her"

"Something terrorizes Rose Stark?" Clint scoffed "the girl who could and probably would tell the Devil to fuck off. Are we talking of the same girl here, Cap?"

Everyone's lips twitched upwards. People had a 'Devil may care' attitude. Rose was one step ahead with her 'I don't care if Devil cares. He should fucking mind his own fucking business' attitude

"Anyone tried calling them?" Bruce asked

"I did" Nat nodded "Rose and Tony's phones are switched off. Mia and Pepper's are going to voicemail. I've tried since morning. The four just...disappeared"

"What about their burner phones?" Steve asked

"Same" Nat sighed "I'm worried"

She was worried about her friends, her family. It wasn't often she claimed people as hers, but once Natasha Romanoff claimed someone, she'd kill for them without any question or doubt.

"Agent Romanoff, I assure you that Sir, Miss, Ms. Potts, and Ms. Granger are fine. They currently at one of Ms' properties and just need some time and space to sort themselves" JARVIS curtly butted in

"This is the same response I got this morning" Nat grunted in irritation

"Can you tell what exactly happened, JARVIS?" Bruce asked, hoping that the AI would at least let something slip

"I'm afraid I'm not at the liberty to discuss the previous night's incident, Dr. Banner"

"Okay," Bruce sighed. Stubborn AI

"Since we are getting nowhere, I believe our best option would be to let them be," Thor said

And they all reluctantly agreed.

* * *

The whole day, there was nothing from the four. Clint later informed them that he had George's phone number. Nat smacked him for not telling it earlier. When Clint called George to ask about it, George(just like JARVIS) assured them that they are all fine and just needed some time and space. He parroted the same thing!

The only thing he let slip was that something terrible happened with Rose on 2nd May years ago. Steve was right. Whatever it was, it still scared her.

Though the rest of the team didn't press into it further, they exactly hadn't let it go either. Rose, Tony, and Mia were part of the team. And Pepper was everyone's friend. Naturally, they were all worried.

Around 10 PM, something finally happened. Bruce, who was going through some projects he was doing for SHIELD, looked up when he heard the elevator open. All five of them were at the communal, so it had to be one of the four.

And to their luck, it was Mia. She quietly entered, trying to be as small as possible but stopped once she felt five pairs of eyes on her. She sighed loudly and gave them all a weak smile

"Are you okay?" Clint asked first, checking over her with a critical eye

"I'm good. Thanks for asking" she said

"Okay," Steve nodded "What's going on? Where are Ro-"

"Steve, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna stop you right there" Mia took a step forward.

Nat frowned a little as she looked over their handler. Mia's entire posture screamed defensive. They better take the right steps or Mia would close like a clam and wouldn't tell them anything

"Rose and Tony are fine. Whatever happened last night..." she exhaled sharply "Please give them some t-"

"Time and space?!"

Everyone turned to look at Clint, who surprisingly seemed very irritated and angry. Mia frowned

"Because that's the same bullshit we've been hearing since last night!"

Nat looked at Mia. While she knew Clint wouldn't do anything dangerous to hurt anyone, she couldn't say the same about the witch

"What do you want me to say, Clint?" Mia asked, quite calmly, but a stern expression on her face

Clint took a couple of steps forward "We want you to talk about what is goi-" he demanded

"Barton" Thor tried to hold Clint back but Clint jerked him off and took another step forward

"-ing on. We know something's wrong with Rose. She's part of the team. She, Tony, and you. And we all are fucking worried about all three of you!"

"What's your point?" Mia asked after a pregnant pause

"My point is we all want to know what the fuck scared Rose Stark so bad that she woke up screaming bloody murder! We fucking deserve to know because we are worried out of our skins!"

Mia inhaled sharply and Nat knew, Clint had crossed the line.

Mia's shoulders straightened and her eyes narrowed. She took a single step forward

"Do any of us ever ask about your past before you joined SHIELD?" she asked, her voice weirdly calm, and Clint froze. He didn't say anything but everyone knew Mia touched a nerve. But they all knew better than to interfere. Clint had it coming after what he said

"Do we ask, no demand, why you got on SHIELD's radar in the first place? Why Nick Fury took you under his wing?"

Clint exhaled quite sharply and clenched his jaw

"Have Tony or Rose ever asked about Missouri before Rose accidentally got to know?"

Nat's eyes widened at that. Rose and Tony knew about Missouri?

"They are your teammates and you are worried about them, I understand. I do, Clint. But some things are better unknown. Take it from me, who's known the Starks more than all of you combined. They need to be left alone right now." she took another step forward and at that moment looked way fiercer and protective than any one of them had ever seen her "You don't know what the fuck they are going through. Don't demand things like you fucking own this place. You don't. So for all our sakes, back the fuck off"

Clint didn't say anything. None of them did.

"I was under the assumption that it was an unspoken rule to not talk about our past lives. If that is, don't ask the questions. Trust me, you won't like the answers"

Mia glared at them before she turned to head towards the staircase. She stopped at the bottom and looked at them for one last time

"Rose and Tony are sensible adults. They'll be back soon when they'll feel like it. Just when they do, don't demand things as you did right now. I can't predict how badly that would screw up this team. Give them space and time. They need it the most. And your support" with that she turned back and jogged upstairs

Silence and tension were so thick, Nat could cut with a butter knife.

Clint just turned and went back to the couch and sat down, arms crossed

"You crossed the line, Clint" Nat finally said, earning a glare from the archer

"She's right" Steve added "We all are worried about them, but it's not our place to demand to know their secrets"

Clint sighed in irritation and ran his hands over his face

"Are you okay, Barton?" Thor sat next to the archer and comfortingly squeezed his shoulder

"I...N-No. No, I'm not okay" Clint sighed and looked at them all "You weren't there last night. You didn't see her. You didn't see how broken and vulnerable she looked. How she was mourning and...something was different about her. About the things, she was saying. She looked so small..." he exhaled and ran his hands over his face again as Thor squeezed his shoulder

"Rose faced a crazed homicidal Norse God without a flick of fear. She fought an alien invasion. She got kidnapped and was used as Killian's lab rat and made it out. She faced Doom without any of us for backup. And not once did she back down or give up. Not once did she lose her shit. Admit it," he looked at them all "We all lost our shit one point of time ever since we got together. Even Tony lost his shit. Rose didn't. She kept it together, inside her, dealing with it all by herself the whole time and smiled. Not even once..." he huffed "And it scares me to think that something could scare her so bad." Clint exhaled and clasped his hands under his chin "You didn't see her the way I did. It physically hurt me to see her so...like that." he sniffed "She's the youngest of us. She's just 23, yet she's the sanest. And..." he grunted and tsked

"Tony and Rose never questioned things about us and I appreciate it. They gave us a place to live, unlimited services to use, customized weapons, a family. But whenever one of us was down or upset, they were there, for us. They both were there for me." he looked at them "After everything the Starks have done for us, the least we could do is help them and be there for them. But how are we supposed to do that if they won't let us?"

Everyone exchanged a look. While Clint was wrong to demand things, most of what Clint just said made some sense.

Bruce sighed and sat on the other side of Clint "Rose did lose her shit once, Clint. Tony told me. She's youngest, yes, but she's still like us. Even she has her limits. She's not invincible"

Thor nodded and squeezed Clint's shoulder "I'm sure they understand. And they will confide into us when they'll want us to know. Apart from hoping they get well soon, we can't do anything here. We can't pressure them, Barton. As Lady Mia said, all we can do is support them when they get back and give them their space to recover"

Steve nodded in agreement.

Nat bit her lip as she looked over the boys "I should check on Mia"

"Okay" Steve nodded at her and she made her to way to Mia's room

* * *

Mia sat on her desk, holding her forehead. Last night was pretty horrible on her, Tony and Pepper. She thought Rose was getting better. But then again, rose won't tell her anything if it concerned her well-being. Mia sighed. She hadn't meant to blow up on Clint but...she was stressed and worried and Clint just pushed her buttons.

She understood him. If this was the exact scenario in school, she would have demanded things from Rose the same way. Hell, she had demanded things from her in the same way, pushed her buttons, forced her to tell the truth. But this was different. They didn't know Tony and Rose the way she did. The Starks were a lot of things. Broken beyond repair was one of them. And after everything they had done for her, she'd do anything to keep them safe.

Mia got up with a grunt, pulled a drawer, and took out a bottle of Advil. She swallowed two pills with a glass of water. She'd think about the mess later, including apologizing to Clint for saying things she shouldn't have. Right now, Starks were her priority.

She got up when she heard a knock on her door

"It's open" she called. The door opened and Nat entered

she gave her a small comforting smile ad she sighed, settling back on the chair. Nat closed the door and leaned against it, ankles crossed and arms folded

"What are you doing here?" Mia asked

"Came to see if you are alright" she replied

"I'm fine, thanks"

Nat just nodded

"Clint was out of line and I apolog-"

"It's alright." Mia pressed her lips and gave her a look "He was worried for Tony and Rose, and I get it. You don't have to apologize. he also doesn't need to" she exhaled "We both said things we shouldn't have. We were both out of line. I'm sorry"

Nat gave her a small smile

"Can I ask you something?"

Mia raised a brow

"Rose Stark and Rose Potter are the same person"

And it wasn't a question

Mia froze as a chill ran down her spine. She narrowed her eyes at the Russian

"How long have you known?"

"Honestly, ever since I met you. I never thought that Rose Stark is Rose Potter and I worked for her for a few months. She's too good" Nat chuckled

Mia snorted. Only if she knew better

"Hermione Granger, everyone knows you on the magical side. And you are engaged to one Ron Weasley. And have a best friend, Rose Potter. But Rose introduced you to us as her best friend. Didn't take much to put two and two together"

"Who else knows?" Mia asked

Nat shrugged "Only me. Others didn't know about the magical world before Rose told them."

Mia shrugged and then sighed

"So, I guess you know what freaked her last night?"

Nat gave her a blank look "Second Wizarding War." Nat pushed herself off the door and sat across Mia on the bed "After the attacks on mundane London, SHIELD got involved. Fury sent the agents who had clearance from the magical world to investigate. I was one of them"

"How much do you know?"

Nat bent forward, resting her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands under her chin

"Not much. The British Minister of Magic didn't exactly distribute secrets like candies. He was quite reluctant that the issue was handled and SHIELD's help was not required. Though I did hear whispers about the Golder Trio and Rose Potter's role in the defeat of the Dark Lord."

Mia took a deep breath and leaned back, eyes on the carpeted floor, arms crossed

"Anniversary Effect. That's what her psychologist called it. It's been 7 years today, you know. And it was almost enough time for all of us to recover, heal from our wounds. Rose was the hardest, but...she healed. Over the months, we thought she was getting better. the nightmares almost stopped. But then they came back out of the blue a week before the first anniversary of the war. She was on the edge the whole time. A few days later she went back to normal.

"It started again, next year. Around the end of April, she becomes jumpy, edgy, insomniac...nightmares. It's been like that for 7 years. She tries to hide it, but...you know what happens. She cannot control them, she tried a lot of things. These two weeks are hardest on her. And she needs time to go back to the Rose you all are used to"

Nat nodded. She could understand where Mia was coming from.

"Tony is there for her, every time, no matter what. That was the main reason he agreed for the vacation. He hoped, we all did, that this time maybe it won't be as bad. Maybe, she'd finally heal from them. Because she had a team to watch her back. a team to support her, trust her...love her. We both hoped that maybe she won't have nightmares this time. But she did. And they were just as bad" she exhaled again, pressing one hand against her temple and tilting her head "You just heard whispers, Nat. I was there."

Nat pressed her lips and nodded again "I'll handle the team"

Mia gave her one nod and got up "I came to pick some stuff for the Starks. I should be leaving"

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything"

"I will" Mia nodded

Nat got up and headed for the door

"Natasha"

Nat stopped and looked at her handler

"Rose Potter is Rose Stark's one of the biggest secrets. Please don't break her trust"

"I got it. You take care of yourselves and our precious irritating Starks"

Mia cracked a small smile, which Nat returned before she left, closing the door after her

* * *

For the next few days, things were semi-normal. Or trying to be as normal as possible.

Clint had been awfully quiet since his little spat with Mia and she called him out. The most he spoke were five words strung together in a sentence. But the worry on his face regarding the Starks had not lessened even one bit.

The other three men, while being equally worried, had respected the space and tried to ignore the absence of the genius billionaires of the team. Nat knew that more than respecting their privacy, the four men had grown to respect Mia as well. She was damn scary when she went all defensive.

Nat knew that others knew that she knew something worth sharing but wasn't sharing. She mostly did. But none of them had asked her to spill her guts and she appreciated it. Only if Clint understood the situation and stopped acting immature.

Another thing was the lack of action. For some reason, Fury had not given the team any mission since the start of May. It only made them all suspect that he may (most probably) know of Rose's issue

The tension only grew thicker and thicker as the days passed but no one commented or talked. All they, including Nat, wanted was the team to be back together and forget the incident at all.

Pepper appeared one evening on 5th May just after lunch. She gave them all comforting smiles and even made small talk. Neither of the sides mentioned either of the Starks or Mia. And then she left, saying something doing some management stuff

All their prayers were finally answered when Tony strode in on 6th May, acting like he had not vanished off the face of Earth with his daughter, daughter's best friend, and girlfriend for about 4 days!

He grinned at them and took a seat at the breakfast table

"What's for breakfast?" he asked

"Uh...blueberry pancakes" Steve answered

"Oh great. Love me some pancakes" he grinned

He quietly ate while others finished and left. Steve noticed Clint sitting on a bean bag, modifying his arrows but his sight was entirely focused on Tony. Seeing a clear coast, Steve sat next to Tony

"How are you, Tony?"

"Alive, still kicking. I'd say great, Cap" he smiled

"And Rose?"

"She's great too" he chuckled "Right now she's in LA, attending a conference she'd been putting off for weeks. Pepper really had to drag her to the conference" he chuckled "The girls should be back by tonight"

"Th-that's good" Steve replied "Mia?"

"Oh she went to Triskelion, don't know why" Tony shrugged "Pass me the syrup"

Steve did and looked over his shoulder at the team, who were all giving him looks only

* * *

Pepper and Rose did return the same night before dinner. They joined in, talked, and laughed. And not once did the five mention the incident

For which, Rose was glad. She was worried that after Clint and Nat witnessed one of her annual episodes, she'd be bombarded with questions and smothering, but that was not the case. No one talked about it. Though she could also do without the four remaining men keeping such a close eye on her as if she was gonna collapse any second, she appreciated it.

After dinner, they all filtered to their rooms, one by one. The only remaining people on the communal were Tony, Rose, and Clint.

Clint, seated on the beanbag, adjusting his bow while looking over the father-daughter duo who were discussing some of their science gizmos. He noticed the duo acting as if nothing had happened that managed to worry the Avengers. He knew that they both had some past and somewhere their issues had issues, but they were his friends, his family. he had the right to worry about them.

"I think it's enough for today, pumpkin." Tony got up and stretched "Why don't you get off and grab some shut-eye"

"'Kay dad" Rose smiled

Tony bent and placed a kiss on her hair before he sauntered off to the elevator

Rose sighed and stood up, straightened her clothes. Keeping her tab down, she started collecting the scattered sheets when she noticed another pair of hands helping her. Once collected, she looked up, accepting the bundle from Clint and smiled. She placed them on the coffee table with her tab on the top

"Heading up?" he asked and she nodded

He picked his quiver and bow and the two headed for the elevator.

the silence was both comforting and disturbing. She knew that he had an argument with Mia and was worried that he might do anything erratic. And he did when he pressed a button on the panel which made the elevator stop

she looked at him with a raised brow but before she could ask or say anything

"How are you?" he asked

"I'm good" she answered with a small smile

"No, Rose. Honestly, how are you? Please"

Rose's jaw clenched a little "Clint, I'm really fine. Thanks for asking"

Clint sighed

"I saw you the other night. You weren't good or fine. You were far from it. And then you just vanish for 4 whole days without anything. no message, or calls or anything. Don't lie to me and say you are okay. because I can tell whatever spooked you that night, still hasn't gotten off your head"

Rose bit her lip and looked away but Clint took a step forward

"Everyone has secrets and I don't want to know yours. But you, Tony and Mia, are part of the team and we got your back no matter what. You guys are family. So please next time something like this happens, just let us know. let me know. We'd give you your space but please run off like that in the middle of the night. You got me worried. You got us all very worried"

Rose inhaled sharply

"I needed to ground myself before I came back." she looked at him and gave a small smile "I can some handle some bad dreams, Clint. I just needed some time"

Clint nodded. He knew he'd get to hear that. After all, the Starks weren't team players

"And I'm sorry I got you all worried."

"It's okay" Clint smiled and wrapped her in a hug "I'm just glad you and Tony are back in one piece"

Rose slightly chuckled at that and pulled. She heard a ding and noticed the elevator stop at Clint's floor. When had he pressed the button?

"Sweet dreams, Rosie" He placed a light kiss on her forehead and headed out

"You too" she called after, smiling.

* * *

8th of May was the celebration in the city for being the first anniversary since the Battle of New York( as the press had dubbed it)

the Avengers were invited and thanked for everything they did. Bruce, Clint, and Nat were not very happy about it all the flashes, blasting questions and demands, but put up with it since it was a necessary evil. Mia, their personal angel, managed to get them all out in about two hours and led them all back to the tower.

"The day was certainly eventful" thor grinned, twirling the Mjolnir

"You can say that" Bruce muttered "Did we had to do it? I don't like talking about the invasion" he asked

"PR" Mia muttered "Besides, I thought Hulk had a smash smashing stuff around" she chuckled

"Hulk. Not Bruce Banner" Bruce scoffed

"Relax, buddy" Clint swung his arm around bruce with a grin of his won "Once in a while, the limelight is good"

"Not when you are in spy business" Nat deadpanned, entering the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of fruit juice

Clint shrugged

"At least you don't get questioned about the Avengers whenever you step in front of them" Rose scoffed "It's irritating!"

Tony nodded with a hum "Vultures, the lot of them"

"I more or less expected Cap to be all blushing and frozen. How are you so good in front of the press and public?" Clint tilted his head

Steve suddenly blushed at that mentioned and cleared his throat. he happily took the glass of juice Nat offered and muttered something that sounded vaguely similar to "USO tours"

"Right" Tony scoffed, having heard it and Rose chuckled

"Ms, I'd like to inform you that Mr. Joshua Lord has arrived" JARVIS chimed in

"Who's that?" Thor asked

"Tattoo artist" she replied "Get him to 82nd floor, please J"

"Are we really doing this?" Clint asked

"Don't tell me you are chickening out right now, Merida" Tony teased

"O-Of course not" Clint defended

"Okay then, let's get it done with" Nat stood up and walked to the elevator, everyone else following her

"How do you know him?" Steve asked

"Josh did my arm, rib and back tattoo" Rose nodded "He did Dad's. So yeah"

"And the shoulder piece?" Nat asked

"Harriet Hapgood. She's British" she answered as the lift stopped on the required floor

Tony and Rose greeted the man and introduced everyone to him. Then they came up to the topic of tattoos

"So all of you are getting it?" he asked, looking at the simple design Rose had handed him which Steve had drawn with perfect precision

"Not us" Bruce quickly replied, pulling Mia with him

"Okay," Josh nodded "We got any virgins?"

Steve blushed and Clint sputtered

"He meant first-timers" Tony explained "First-timers are called virgins"

"Steve, Clint, and Thor are virgins. She has an ankle tattoo" Rose pointed at Nat

Josh nodded "Who's getting it and where?"

Nat opted to get it on her bicep, where it won't be regularly seen. Tony chose to do it on his right arm, just below the elbow joint. Steve decided on his right arm as well. Thor for some reason, opted for it to be done on his right ribcage.

"First, I want that one here" Clint pointed at the nape of his neck "And the star one Rose has on here" he circled his right upper arm near the shoulder joint

"Which one?" Josh asked and Rose lifted her top to show the tattoo below her right ribcage

"And Rose?" he asked

"I was thinking, and I want three" Rose replied

"Getting too excited?" Nat asked

"Oh shut it. I like tattoos" Rose replied and then turned to Josh "first the logo on my right shoulder blade on the front. I want a wolf on the left ribcage and finally a quote on my right wrist, on the side"

And they all got to work. It took about nearly 4 hours to get them all tattooed. Josh asked if he could also get the logo tattooed and they all agreed. It's not every day you get to tattoo the better part of the Avengers!

Once done, Josh wrapped some bandage around the new tattoos and gave them the dos and don't with their tattoos. And then he left

"How long before it heals?" Clint asked

"2 weeks tops" Tony answered

"You should have gotten it, Banner" Thor looked at the sole member without the tattoo

"Like I said, I'd rather not"

Thor raised a brow

"We should get him drugged" Steve suggested, causing them all to laugh

"Yeah. a few huge doses of tranq and big green won't be around and we can get you tattooed" Nat agreed

"Guys" Bruce warned, which caused them all to laugh further

"No one's gonna force you, Brucie" Tony promised "But the offer's open"

Bruce rolled his eyes and left

"What's with the wolf?" Clint asked Rose

"What?"

"The wolf"

"I wanted it for a while" Rose shrugged, looking at the small black wolf tattoo on her left ribcage

"What's the quote to got tattooed on your right wrist?" Bruce asked

Rose raised her arm and showed the phrase now tattooed on the side

"Fortes Fortuna Iuvat" Nat read the Latin inscription "Fortune favors the brave. Cool"

Rose grinned and then looked at the newbies "Don't try to get in missions including lots of water for until 2 weeks."

* * *

To say that Fury was not pleased to hear that the team got matching tattoos would be an understatement. He was more pissed to find that two of his best spies also got a tattoo. Spies and tattoos! Whatever on Earth happened to subtlety and anonymity?

"Chill out, Cyclops" Tony shrugged him off when Fury confronted them all one evening about it "It's just a symbol"

And then everyone got defensive. They were a team, a family and they wanted the tats. Fury doesn't control their personal lives.

"Don't expect me to excuse you all from the missions" Fury grumbled and turned around to leave

"As long as water isn't involved!"

The dinner was Tony's turn, so as always he ordered takeout. This time from a Thai restaurant. It was Nat's turn for movie and she pulled Mision Impossible. After the movie, they all relaxed while nat and steve started collecting the takeout boxes and other throwaways when Rose spoke up

"I want to say something"

five Avengers exchanged a look and sat down, looking at the ombre-haired witch

"First, both dad and I are very sorry for disappearing like that without any way of contacting you and letting you know that we are alright" Rose bit her lower lip

Tony took a deep breath but said nothing

"You don't have to" Nat whispered, keeping a comforting hand on Rose's knee.

Rose looked at her "I want to" she muttered back

she took a deep breath and Tony's hold on his daughter tightened. While he didn't exactly agree to Rose's idea, he agreed that coming a little clean might be better and take off some weight from their shoulders

Rose looked at them, playing with her hands

"A few years ago, when I was in school, there was a terrorist attack on my school. they were a local European group and they attacked my school. Mia was there with me. So were Ron, George and a lot of people I knew, friends. The attack was brief lasted for only two-three days but there was a lot of damage. several people, some of my friends..." she took a deep breath "they died. They were murdered."

She scooted closer to Tony and snuggled into him and his grip tightened providing as much comfort as he could

"I witnessed a few of them. And it did a number on me. Night terrors were some of the long term consequences"

A weird silence settled around the team. No one knew how to react to that news.

"Did the government not step in?" Steve finally asked, voice very soft ad comforting

Rose pressed her lips in a thin line. Before she could formulate something, Tony came to her rescue

"They did, but it was quite late. Her school's in Scottish highlands, a bit hard to travel there."

"you went to school in Scotland?" Bruce asked

Rose nodded

"As soon as communications were re-established and everyone else was rescued, they called me and I brought her back home"

"My psychiatrist called it the Aniversary Effect. I'm fine all year but come to the end of April, the start of May," she inhaled deeply "It...comes back. The memories, the...everything. It's been going on for 6 years, now."

"When will it be over?" Thor asked

"We can't say" Tony replied, "We don't even know if it will ever stop."

Rose closed her eyes and took another deep breath, speaking very slowly "It's stuck with me. For so long and maybe longer. Always reminding me of what happened and being there. Stuff like that leaves a mark." She huffed as if looking for the right words

"Like a tattoo?" Clint asked

Rose and Tony looked at him

"Yeah" Rose slowly said "Just like a tattoo"

* * *

After the heaty confession, Tony herded them all to bed( it was his first time). Rose had gone downstairs to collect some papers from her lab before she headed back tot he communal to collect the remaining papers.

She offed under the three giant folders she managed to carry in her arms and turned and almost jumped

"Steve! You scared me!"

"Sorry 'bout it" he weakly chuckled "Wasn't planning on it"

"It's okay" she shrugged "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I could ask the same"

"Well, I need to organize them for tomorrow before Pepper storms in my room and fetches me to the investors meet" she replied

Steve eyed the folders and took two of them.

"Wow. They are heavier than they look"

Rose raised a brow "I could carry them, but thanks"

"always ready to help a dame" Steve gave a grin, as the two walked towards the staircase

Rose giggled "You know, I don't know whether to take that as a compliment and reply or to pinch your cheeks for being adorkable"

"well, a nice thank you should suffice" Steve suggested

"Then, why thank you, Steven" Rose smiled

Steve chuckled

"you didn't answer me," Rose said

"huh?"

"What were you doing down there?" she asked

"I was coming from the gym. Grabbed a bottle of water and saw you with these files"

Rose hummed as they approached Steve's floor. But instead of stopping, he continued upstairs

"I can carry them by myself, Steve"

"It's no bother. Just two more floors."

"Are you implying that I cannot carry three heavy folders by myself to my floor?" Rose raised a brow, eyeing him

Steve suddenly sputtered "I didn't say that!"

"I said imply"

"I'm not implying anything"

Rose shrugged "good then"

she climbed up and resumed her way to her room

"What are these files anyway?" he asked, breaking the silence "what's so heavy in them?"

"Some new designs for R&D, a couple of prototypes, paperwork, and stuff"

Steve nodded

"so..." Rose muttered, "What all did I miss in the four days?"

"Not a lot. there was just a lot of worrying, arguments, Nat not sharing information" Steve tsked "everything was rather plain"

"Oh."

Rose bit her lip. She had freaked out at first when Mia informed her that Nat knew her secret. Not that she didn't trust the spy but...okay, she didn't trust the spy with her past. But Nat had made no move or gesture to imply her distaste or dislike towards her regarding her past. So, that was a win-win. But she wasn't sure how others would take that news is her past was ever revealed to them.

"I'm sorry I worried all of you" she muttered slowly

"We all have our episodes. It's normal and fine." Steve replied

Rose nodded and snorted "It's the first time someone has worried about me and dad vanishing for a couple of days. Usually, people don't care if we vanish for even a month without any news. Sorry, we aren't exactly used to being in a team and looked after like that"

Steve looked at her "that's what family does. we look after our own" he smiled softly

she gave him a smile of her own and they stepped into her floor. She placed the folder on the table and Steve followed

"Well, thanks again, Cap."

She looked at him when she got no reply

"Cap? Steve?"

Steve looked at her "You remember what you said to me the night we went camping?"

"I said a lot of things to you lot. You gotta be a bit more specific"

"After the prank, when you came to see me in my tent"

"I think I offered to be your shrink, I guess," Rose said, a bit confused

"That and I could come and talk to you about anything whenever I want"

"And the offer still stands"

Steve exhaled "I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to me too. I may not know what it's like to have night terrors so bad, but I've been through a war, and war changes you"

Rose mentally snorted. He had no idea how right he was.

"And you or Tony don't have to go through any of it alone, not anymore. We are here for you. Anytime you want. It's not just the battles or field where we are watching your back. It's your everyday life too. I don't know how things have been there for you until now, but...they don't have to be like that, anymore. Tony's one of my good friends and you are my-"Steve paused. What should he say? Crush? love-interest? that he was enamored by her?

"your what?"

Steve came out of his thoughts and looked at her

"Friend. You are my friend too and you don't have to shut us out, Rose. "

Rose took a deep breath. She was not at all expecting anything like this from Steve. Bruce or Nat, maybe. But not Steve.

Taking a deep breath, and trying to show that he had not taken her by surprise, she gave him one of her small smirks. She had long since learned to put on a facade and being a master illusionist, only a handful people were ever able to see through them

"Careful what you offer, Steven. I might hold you out on that"

Steve shrugged, a weird smirk making its appearance on his face, one she had never seen before "Maybe I want you to hold on to that"

Was it just her or was Steve flirting? Quite boldly at that

Rose chuckled and shook her head fondly before she looked at the super soldier

"I will." she smiled, good-naturedly

"Great! I mean, good. uhm..uh..great that you are...uh...taking up my offer." he nervously laughed

Rose mentally frowned. Okay, what caused Steve to go from a confidant sweet-talker to a nervous schoolboy in less than 0.5 seconds? Was it something she said?

"well, I should grab some sleep. Big meeting tomorrow"

Steve nodded "Sweet dreams"

"You too, Steve"

* * *


	20. 44 is young!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Tony's first birthday with the team, who do their best to give the team's shellhead a great party

Rose woke up to Hedwig preening her hair, perched on the pillow.

"Morning, Hed" she sleepily greeted, petting her owl as she snuggled to her neck, chirping softly. Out of nowhere, Rogue joined in, perching on her bare shoulder and preening her loose waves and cheek

Rose laughed and picking Rogue, settled on a sitting position.

"Well, this morning just started right" she chuckled, placing Rogue on her bed and stretching. She tied her hair in a bun and entered the bathroom, as per her routine. After a nice shower, she changed into a green loose crop top and a pair of high waisted cropped blue jeans.

By the time she went downstairs, Steve was returning from his run. They exchanged smiles and "Good Morning"s

With a relieved sigh, she entered the kitchen where the coffee was already made. She looked at Bruce, who was probably on his second cup and grinned

"Good Morning, Brucie, Nat"

"Morning" Nat murmured, head resting on her arm over the kitchen island.

"Good Morning Rosie" Bruce smiled, looking over the newspaper

She poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled out some books from one of the cabinets and settled down. Hera and Zeus were lounging at the corner of the room

Rose looked up when she saw her birds landing next to her, Rouge on her shoulder and Hedwig next to her coffee cup. Hedwig chirped, tapping on her coffee mug while Rouge nibbled on her ear

"You are not going for a hunt?" Rose asked softly

Hedwig gave her a look as if saying-"We are hungry. Food now!"

"Right" Rose muttered

She fetched the birds feed and poured some in a bowl for her bird. She picked Arrow from the birdhouse and placed him to eat. While hunting, Hedwig and Rouge always made sure to feed Arrow, who was now starting to learn to fly.

Steve and Thor came down. Steve got himself a mug of coffee and Thor just pulled some pop tarts. How he could eat one empty stomach first thing in the morning was a mystery to everyone.

Rouge finished early and settled on her favorite perch-Rose's shoulder, resuming to preen the rest of her hair.

Mia entered last, showered and dressed, dragging a sleepy Clint with her. Mia got coffee for them both as Clint settled next to Nat. The moment he noticed Rogue, his face turned sour and he frowned.

In return, Rouge's face turned passive and he actually showed the archer his tongue, going back to his original business of making sure Rose was presentable. Rose was oblivious to the exchange, while those who witnessed chuckled at that. It was no secret that Rouge and Clint weren't the best of friends.

"Let it go" Nat muttered

Clint frowned lessened a little before he turned to Rose

"Are you seriously doing work at 7 in the morning?" he asked

"I'm on leave for two days" she replied, sipping on her coffee "and this ain't work"

Nat reached and lifted the book "Cookbook?" she let it drop "Since when?"

Rose shrugged "You both are still covering my chores"

that made both the spies mentally wince. another week, that their bet with Rose would end.

"Then why are you looking for cakes?" Clint asked, peeking into the book "and birthday cakes at that? Is someone's birthday coming?"

Rose stopped and looked at them all as if they all had two heads. The mention of birthday had grabbed everyone's attention to the conversation.

"You are telling me you have no idea about it?" she asked

"Uh..No" Steve answered, "Who's birthday is coming?"

Rose blinked twice "Are you serious?"

"Hey, you can't expect us to remember everyone's birthday" Clint defended

Rose gave him a poker face "7 January" then turned to Nat "22 November" she faced Steve "4 July" then Bruce "18 December. Sorry Thor, I don't know your birthday"

" Fear not, Rose. Tis alright. Birth anniversaries of Asgardians cannot be calculated in Midgardian years" Thor smiled

"Correct me if I'm wrong" she looked at others

"You memorized all our birthdays?" Bruce asked

"Well, I make it my business to know my friends' birthdays" Rose shrugged

"What about her?" Steve asked, gesturing to Mia

"'Her' is sitting right here, Cap" Mia replied calmly, still in her pre-coffee stage "You can ask her. I promise, she doesn't bite"

They all chuckled while Steve flashed her an apologetic smile

"Sorry, Mia"

"19 September" she replied with a shrug

"So, now that we established everyone's birthday, whose birth anniversary is approaching?" Thor asked

"Approaching? It's today." Rose replied "Today's dad's birthday"

"What?" Bruce blinked, newspaper lowered

"Yeah" she nodded and then looked at Nat "I'm surprised you forgot, Nat"

Nat groaned when she remembered she was there was Tony's supposed 'last' birthday after the Palladium poisoning.

"Slipped" Nat replied

"So, where's Tony?" Steve asked, "Sleeping?"

"Dad's not here. I asked him to check over the LA branch office with Pep. He left yesterday and would be arriving today later in the evening. Seriously, I can't plan his birthday with him around"

"there's going to be a party?" Bruce asked

"Yes" Rose deadpanned, going back to her book

"Not one of those wild parties any of you might have read in tabloids" Mia explained "It's going to be simple and only family and friends"

"Okay, I never thought I'd hear the word simple associated with Tony" Clint snorted "How can we help?"

Rose raised her head and looked at them. She often forgot she was a part of a team now. But can you blame her? Being a lone wolf for years with only Tony, Mia, and a selected few's support, she was not used to having people around her like the Avengers.

"Right" she muttered, "Well, this is what we can do..."

* * *

The team had decided to use one of the training rooms for the party. Mia helped Steve and Thor move some furniture. Nat and Bruce had started making a list of everything they'd need. Rose was still deep into the cookbook.

Honestly, it didn't use to be so much of a headache, but now it was. Mostly because she'd made almost all the easy and good cakes and the rest needed a bit of hard work. and it was now starting to get on her nerves

"I think chocolate one would be nice"

Rose looked through her lashes at Clint, who was looking into the book

"Or maybe butterscotch. No, wait, a fruit cake, but no, that's boring. Ooh, how about red-velvet or-"

"Clint" she started slowly

"Got it!" he snapped his fingers with a grin "Chocolate vanilla with strawberry"

He looked down at her when she shot him a bored look

"Do shut up"

Clint mockingly gasped and clutched his chest

"You didn't just say that to me"

Rose gave him a perfect poker face

"I just did" and she went back to the book

But Clint, being Clint, didn't drop it

"Uh...you need any help with baking?"

Across the room, the other Avengers sneaked glances at the pair

"Should we rescue him?" Thor asked

"Nah," Nat muttered, not looking up from the paper "It's too entertaining to watch"

Mia snickered and that caused others, who were holding it back to snicker as well

Rose fixed him a nice and firm poker face

"I've been baking dad's birthday cake for the last 11 years. I can bake a cake and I can do it fine by myself. thank you. I got the cake, you get other stuff"

Clint, realizing that he was not accepted any more for this certain conversation, raised his hands in surrender and backed off

"Had your fun?" Nat asked

"Shut it" Clint muttered

"Sometimes, Clint, I think you do it on purpose" Steve shook his head, going back to moving the huge table for snacks

* * *

By the afternoon, most things were planned. Pieces of Furniture were moved, decorations were placed with exact precision under Rose's strict gaze. Which brought a smile to all their faces

Thor, Mia, and Steve fist-bumped, and Nat and Bruce gave each other nods. Clint was grinning all by himself and Rose gave it a final nod of approval

"Wow. It looks great"

The seven turned around and spotted Rhodey standing at the doorway, a bag in his hands

"Hey Uncle Rhodey" Rose grinned as he made his way to the team

"Hey baby girl" Rhodey gave her a half hug and kissed her head

"Hi" Mia shot him a small wave and Rhodey returned a nod with a smile

He greeted others and then looked around

"I've to say, this looks way better than I had planned out" Rhodey grinned

"These guys made it happen" Rose replied, looking at the team, who all had a look of relief and satisfaction on their face

"Everything else planned?" he asked

"Snacks, drinks will be here shortly" Nat replied

"DJ will get here before the party" Clint added

Rhodey nodded but they stopped. Was it all?

"what about gifts?" Rhodey asked

Only people who grinned were Mia, Bruce, and Thor

"When did you get him gifts?" Nat asked Bruce

"I had been saving some for a while now for Tony's birthday" Bruce shrugged

"Aye," Thor nodded "I had brought some finest quality of Asgardian tech for Stark to tinker but never got a chance to give it to him. Now I believe there couldn't be a better occasion than today"

"I brought it yesterday" Mia deadpanned with a shrug

"So, that leaves the four of us?" Steve asked, looking at Nat, Clint, and Rose

"Oh, I got him a gift already. It's three of you" Rose said, "Well, I'm off to bake the birthday cake."

"Hey, I got some stuff in my car for the party. Think you guys can help?" Rhodey asked

"Certainly, Friend of Stark" Thor nodded

"and for the last time, my name's Rhodey, Thor!"

* * *

Rose bit her lip as she kept the cake batter in the oven to bake while she made the red frosting. the original recipe had to be changed a little since it had white frosting and strawberries in it. But Pepper was allergic to strawberries and white was not Tony's color.

She exhaled loudly when she finished the mixture and placing them in the oven, she backed a little brushing the hair from her face. Hera trotted to her and jumped, keeping her front paws on top of the counter as she looked at bowls of frosting and barked at Rose

"Not for you, Hera" Rose grinned, scratching Hera's head "that's for dad"

she picked one of Hera's toy bones and gave it to her, after which she left to her corner where a small fight with Zeus regarding the ownership of the toy started but Rose paid it no mind. Bigger things to worry about right now, like the birthday cake.

Hedwig perched on her shoulder and Rose shot her a smile

"Fingers crossed"

Hedwig bobbed her head and nibbled her ear. she stopped when they both heard the elevator's trademark ding and Steve stepped out

"Hey" she smiled

"Hi" Steve sat on the kitchen stool and looked at her "I need your help"

"Ask away, Captain" she turned to face him, leaning on the island

"Any idea what I can get Tony?"

Rose chuckled

"Rather than buying him some expensive shit from the store, gift him something handmade."

"something handmade?" Steve repeated

"Hmm-mm" Rose nodded "Dad's a sucker for those. Even if you something from the store you want to gift him, customize it. Add a bit of your touch. Some DIY stuff"

Steve nodded though he didn't know what 'DIY' was. He might have to ask JARVIS later

"What did you get him?"

Rose scoffed with a laugh "Oh no. I'm not telling you" she giggled "You'll see tonight"

Steve chuckled "Alright, then" he nodded "By the way, you got some frosting here" he pointed at her cheek

Rose followed his directions and rubbed it off and smiled at him

"Good?"

"Yeah. Good" Steve smiled and left. Right now, he had a gift to think for Tony

* * *

Rose checked the list one last time before she realized another thing and dashed off across the communal to the elevator

"Is it only me or is Rose putting a lot of effort into Tony's birthday?" Bruce asked

"Not just you" Nat replied. She knew Tony meant a great deal to her but Rose was being overly paranoid for some reason

"Tony's birthday always means a great deal to her," Rhodey replied, going through the phone. he chuckled "Should've seen her when she was a teen. She's much better right now"

Steve looked at Mia "who all are coming?"

"Us, Pepper and Happy. Fleur, George, Ron and Angie" Mia replied

"Okay, Fleur we know. Angie?" Clint asked

"George's wife" Mia replied looking at him "and a few kids"

"Kids?" Bruce froze

Mia looked at him with a calculating gaze "you'll be fine, Bruce. No need to panic"

"I'm not sure about it, Mia"

"Hey," Nat softly began "Last time you lost control was a long while ago. It's going to be fine. and we all are here to watch your back"

Bruce gave her and others a soft smile "Thanks, guys"

"No problem" Clint winked when his phone buzzed

"Who's it?" Thor asked

"Some stuff I ordered is here. I should get it" and he left

"I hope you all got gifts for Tony" Rhodey looked at the lot

the smirks and knowing-look on their faces was enough response

And it was then Rose returned and stumbled on the couch, huffing tiredly

"How long before Dad gets home, J?"

"Sir would be back in 3 hours and 27 minutes"

"Great" she exhaled "Let me know when it reaches the 1-hour mark"

"You require some rest" Thor looked at her "You've been working very hard"

"Just want the day to be perfect for my old man" she tiredly grinned at the god

"It's perfect" Rhodey assured her

"I sure hope so" Rose muttered and sighed

"Miss, the Weasleys are here" JARVIS chimed in

"They are a tad bit early" Mia looked at Rose

"I asked them to," Rose replied

The elevator chimed open and soon there were shrieks of

"Aunty Rose!"

Before a horde of kids dogpiled on her

Steve and others barely managed to move away before the kids launched themselves at their aunty Rose. He didn't know she had so many nieces and nephews.

"Oh my..." Rose laughed, panting slightly "Can you let me breathe?"

"Get off her. Let your aunt breathe" came a beautiful voice that had a distinct french accent

When he looked at the speaker, he felt his throat dry as he gulped. The woman was gorgeous, breathtakingly so. Her blonde hair seemed like it was sun-kissed, it almost had a white glow. Her eyes were the bluest he had seen. But despite being able to give any supermodel in the world a run for their money very easily, she didn't seem as appealing to him as Rose did since the day he had met her.

"Thanks, Fleur" Rose coughed as the kids got off her

Something told him that had something to do with it.

Mia chuckled slightly before she frowned

"And I suddenly turned invisible, didn't I?"

Fleur, Ron, George and the second woman, who had to be Angie, laughed as the children ran to hug Mia as well

"Well, it's been quite a time" George grinned as he and Steve shook hands with a grin

"You can say that" Steve chuckled back

"This is Angelina, my wife" George introduced

"Hullo" she smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you all"

"Pleasure's all ours" Nat smiled, shaking her hand

"Fleur Weasley" Fleur introduced

Nat gave a short nod "Natasha. And this is rest of the team-Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Rhodey"

"Hey Rhodey" Ron greeted the man and gave him half a hug

"You all know him," Bruce said.

"Sure" Angelina replied "We know him as well as we know Tony"

Rhodey grinned and gave them all little hugs

"Lady Mia, would you be introducing your nieces and nephews?" he asked with a grin. Thor was very easy going with kids and he liked their company

Mia looked at thor and smiled. She managed to get a slight glance at Ron, who gave her a very subtle nod

"Why of course" she replied "This is Victoire, Dominique, Molly, Fred, and Edward"

Victoire and Dominique(the youngest), both had beautiful blonde her and bluest eyes. And since red hair was Weasley trademark, it wasn't hard to tell that they were Fleur's kids. Molly was a bit shy and supported dark red hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. Fred had a bit of a darker complexion and dark eyes, being George and Angelina's kid. And finally, Edward(the oldest) had darkest red hair, a rich ruby shade, and blueish-green eyes.

"It's lovely meeting you all" Thor smiled

"Whoa" Fred was the first to speak, eyes wide in awe "You are huge!"

"Fred!" Angelina quickly chastised while Thor and many laughed

"Why thank you, young Fred" Thor chuckled, ruffling his dark hair, which made the young kid chuckle

"Yeah, Fred won't be the first kid to comment on Thor's massive size" Nat added

"Makes me wonder what will happen should they meet the Hulk," Thor thought out loud

"Oh no. That's not happening" Bruce quickly added

"I just wondered, Banner" Thor counter-argued

"Where's the rest of the fam?" Rose asked, scooting over as they all settled in the seating area "And Charlie didn't come? Come on!"

"Charlie said he was sorry for bailing at the last moment and he'd make it up to you and Tony when he gets back from his recent assignment" Ron answered

"He better" Rose frowned, hugging a pillow "Louis? My cutest nephew?"

Fleur chuckled, rather in an elegant way "Bill just got back from Egypt and you know how he gets when he returns home. Percy was rather busy and Audrey didn't want to be alone, so she sent Molly with us. She's actually with Bill and Louis"

"when is Audrey due?" Mia asked, struggling to keep hold of all the kids. Thor swooped in and gathered Dominique, Edward, and Fred in his arms, making them laugh.

"August end" Angelina answered

"I can't wait to see Percy fainting again" George laughed and at the confused looks of others, he chuckled "Our older brother Percy fainted when Molly was being delivered."

"Really?" Rhodey asked "I thought it was like an urban legend or something. Men fainting during deliveries"

"It happened. In fact, George almost lost it when Fred was born" Angelina chuckled

"did not!"

"sure, love" Angeline patted his arm "We all believe it"

George frowned and looked at Rose "Back me up?!"

Rose blinked "You did almost faint. Why would I back you up?"

George looked at Ron who raised his hands in surrender

"don't even look at me, mate. Nuh-uh"

"Traitors" George muttered with a mock glare

The kids suddenly laughed at something Thor had told them, which got all their attention.

Steve, finally deciding to introduce himself, walked to the kids and crouched to their eye level

"I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you all" he smiled

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Steve" Molly shyly replied

"Hi, Mr. Steve" Victoire added

"Steve is fine" he smiled before he noticed Edward's gobsmacked look directed at him

"Edward?" he asked

"Y-Y-You are Captain America!" he blurted which took him back

Steve grew uncomfortable under the sudden attention he received after the statement. He turned around and looked at the guests "I didn't know the magical world knew of Avengers"

Mia had told them once that since tech and magic don't work together, the two worlds remained separate, most of the time. Even if Rose introduced special tech to the magical world, they were not very popular and old generations remained wary of it

"Oh you lot are quite popular" Ron assured him "Fighting an alien invasion does garner some attention"

"Rose, hey" George began, quickly changing the topic "Where do we put our gifts?"

"Yeah, about that" Rose quickly stood up "Give them to me"

three wrapped gifts made it to her arms. Rose smiled and looked at his direction

"Edward," she called instead "Wanna help?"

Edward, broken off his stupor nodded, quietly got off Thor's lap, and ran off after her. She gave him the lightest gift and the two made their way downstairs

Rose and Edward made their way to the party room, which opened and they placed the gifts with the others. as soon as the gifts were down, Edward hugged her tight

Rose chuckled and lifted him, settling him in her arms

"Missed me?"

"Too very much" Teddy replied and hugged her, making her chuckle

"I missed you too, baby" she smiled, planting a kiss on his head, enjoying every single second of getting to hold her son in her arms.

"Why can't you tell them?" he softly asked

"Didn't Uncle Ron tell you?" she asked, settling on a bean bag

"He said that it was a game and if I called you mum, you'd lose. I don't want you to lose" he whispered back and Rose almost groaned. Ron sucked at this. She shouldn't have given that task to him of all people

"Really?" she asked

Teddy pulled and looked at her as he settled on her lap

"But I'm a big boy and I know he's lying. Why would he lie to me, Mum?"

Rose smiled, running her hands through Teddy's hair as it turned black under her touch-his real hair color.

She exhaled and looked at him, playing with his hair

"You know everyone has a secret treasure?"

Teddy nodded

"And what do you do when you have a secret treasure?"

Teddy bit his lip before he slowly answered "Keep it a secret so thieves won't steal it"

Rose nodded with a hum "That's right. But it's not just thieves who'll steal. Anyone who sees the treasure and wants it will steal it. And you, my little prince charming, are my secret treasure. Do you think we should tell them about you?"

Teddy made a thinking face "But what if someone hears you telling them?"

"Well, then we'd have to kill them"

the mother-son duo jumped at the sudden voice. The room was supposed to be empty!

they looked over as Clint rose from behind the newly set Music system, some tools in his hands

Teddy quickly scooted closer to his mother, and Rose didn't even blink

"The heck, Clint?" she frowned "How did you raise your own kids?"

"Laura did most of the work" he shrugged with an easy smile, crouching to their level, finally sitting on the floor next to them

"I'm Clint" Clint extended his hand "But of course, you can call me Uncle Clint"

"What do we do when someone introduces themself?" Rose softly asked

Teddy looked at rose before he shook Clint's hand

"I'm Edward. But everyone calls me Teddy"

"You are cute, teddy" Clint chuckled "Definitely got that from your mom"

Teddy blushed and pressed his face into Rose's neck, making the two laugh

"but he heard, mum" he whispered. Not really whispered since Clint also heard it

Clint and she shared a look

"Teddy"

he pulled and looked at Rose

"Well, Clint here also has a secret treasure"

"He does?" Teddy asked

"Oh yes, I do" Clint nodded "and you probably met them. Cooper and Lila"

Teddy nodded "I like them. they are nice. Cooper is smart and Lila's pretty"

Rose's eyes widened a little and she looked at Clint

"Did your son just..." he looked at her

For some reason, obvious ones, of course, reminded Rose of when Tony had turned into a kid and saw Pepper for the first time. Logically she blamed Tony for Teddy's suave personality

"He's a kid" she shrugged back before looking at Teddy "So, Cooper and Lila are Clint's children."

"And just like we have to keep you a secret" Clint began "Cooper and Lila need to be a secret too"

Teddy nodded with a proud smile "I can do that"

"I know, love" Rose placed a small smile on his head "We should head back"

Rose and Clint shared a look as they headed back upstairs

* * *

Upstairs was a whole other scenario. From the looks of it, the young generation had the Avengers and the pups wrapped around their very tiny fingers. Even Natasha and Bruce, who looked rather comfy around children at the moment.

Clint had quickly joined them, where Nat took it upon herself to introduce the kids to him. The smile on her face almost made Rose's heart clench. She was aware of the so-called _'Graduation Ceremony'_ of the Red-Room. No matter what the world or Nat herself said, she knew that if possible, Natasha would have been a great mother.

she approached her family and sat next to Fleur. Zeus jumped on the couch and cuddled to her, stuffing his head into her stomach until she absent-mindedly started scratching his favorite spots

"Teddy didn't slip, did he?" Fleur softly asked, voice audible to only those in her close proximity

"He didn't. But," Rose turned to glare at Ron "You suck"

"I explained him in the best possible way I could" Ron defended

"I'll repeat. You suck" Rose scoffed

"I agree" George nodded "You suck, Ron"

Ron, being very mature just tongue-teased them.

The rest of the tours passed with Thor telling the kids and by extension the team, Ron and George, about his adventures as a young prince. Even the dogs seemed very entranced with Thor's stories.

Rose was putting final touches on the cake while Fleur and Ange helped her with the rest of the food

"why is it red?" Angie raised a brow at the cake's frosting

Rose shrugged "Iron man theme"

"Didn't you do it once already?"

"Don't think dad would remember" Rose snorted before she looked at Fleur "How's the rest of the family?"

"They are fine. Bill's a little tired these days, which he mostly thinks is the old age catching up to him. I don't argue"

Angie and Rose laughed softly. Over the years, Fleur's English had gotten way better, but still held a tinge of french accent

"I just think about it. Here's my dad who still thinks that 44 is young. And there's Bill, according to whom 34 is old." Rose scoffed

"Men" Angie agreed which got a snort from the other two

"So, Rose" Flue started slightly leaning in "I have to say, you've got a fine team of people here"

"Unfortunately, credit goes to someone else" Rose humorlessly snorted

"That's not our point" Angie butted in

Rose looked at both of her sisters-in-law/friends "You both planned it"

Rose mentally groaned. She was so not ready for this conversation

"Well, it was us, Audrey and Mia," Angie replied

"Our point is that you have a very powerful team here and they support and trust you and Tony. Maybe you should return the trust" Fleur softly said

"I trust them, Fleur, with my life, my money, my father, but not with my secrets"

"Ros-" Angie began but Rose cut her

"Opinions are very fickle, Angie. Everyone is not tolerant. And for once, I do not want to experiment with this. I just want things to be the way they are right now"

Angie and Fleur exchanged a look

"You do know the best for yourself" Angie nodded

"Miss, sir would be reaching the tower in exactly 52 minutes" JARVIS thankfully butted in

that grabbed everyone's attention and they all got to finish before Tony returned. Rose finished frosting and decorating the cake while others rushed to change into some semi-formal clothing

By the time returned, the majority of the food was moved to the party room. She did a once over at the kitchen and nodding to herself, headed downstairs

Clint was giving the music system a dry run. Bruce and Thor were on babysitting duty to make sure the kids won't disturb anything. How did those two men end up being nannies was something Rose would like to know.

Rose made it over to Nat

"So?"

"Every thing's spot on, Rose. Stop worrying" Nat replied. Rose shot her a tight nod as she gave Nat a once over. She was wearing a black slip dress that came to her knees with a sheer printed crop top over that. With that, she paired some plain black heeled sandals and silver-black studs.

"Oh good, great" Rose breathed, running a hand through her hair.

"Are those new tattoos?"

Rose turned and looked at Ron, who was staring at her waist. The olive-green jumpsuit she was wearing had cut-outs on the sides and her rib-area was quite visible.

Ever since the reveal, Rose had decided to not wear glamor around the house. There was no point in hiding the tattoos anymore. And Weasleys(the majority of them) were aware of her inks

"Uh..yeah" Rose nodded, looking at the wolf on her left rib side

"You got a wolf tattooed?" George scoffed "Couldn't be more obvious, could you be?"

Rose shrugged "this was a long time pending"

"Does that mean something?" Thor asked, "To get a wolf tattooed on your torso?"

"It's more of an inside joke" Ron replied with an easy-going smile before looking back at Rose "what's the quote on your wrist?"

Rose raised her arm and showed them the wrist tattoo

"Fortune does favor the bold" Fleur nodded with a look of approval

Rose smiled back and pushed her fishtail braid away as she ran a glance across the floor, shifting from one leg to another. She might be very comfortable with heels, but they still a painful contraption.

Mia was dressed in jeans, a fancy top, and heels. Then men were dressed in formal shirts and trousers/jeans with shoes.

"Sir has arrived"

"Get him here, J" Rose answered and looked at everyone

"Let the party begin" Clint grinned

* * *

"Home sweet home" Tony declared as he entered the tower with Pepper and Happy in tow.

"Welcome back, sir. I hope the trip was a success"

"Why thank you, J and yes, it was a success" Tony nodded and looked at his companions "someone's happy to see me"

Pepper rolled her eyes and Happy remained passive.

"I'm pretty sure the sentiment extends from more than JARVIS" Pepper added

He often forgot how tiring it was to do a once over at a branch, but sometimes Rose made him participate more in the company than he was willing to.

The trio made their way to the lift. Before Tony would press a button, JARVIS spoke up

"Sir, Miss has asked you to be brought on the 84th floor"

"Ooh did she plan a surprise party?" Tony asked but JARVIS didn't give any reply

He knew that Rose was going to make something grand for his birthday this year. He also knew that she sent him away on purpose. Of all the year, why would she send him just one day before his birthday? Tony mentally snorted

He knew while Rose kept a lot of things the same for his birthday, every year something new is there. The guest list would usually include their very tight-knit friend circle:-Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, Weasleys, Mia, and his grandkids. Edward might be the only one related to him, but all the children in the Weasley family grew up calling him Grandpa Tony. though he would constantly joke on how he became a Grandpa in the late 30s and how unfair it was. The elevator doors opened and,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Tony was jerked out of his thoughts at the yell

He grinned and his eyes teared a bit; though he wouldn't be caught dead admitting that

The plain room was decorated so much that he couldn't even recognize it at first glance. The banners, streamers, decoration, everything was not only amazing but also red-gold-black color themed. Everyone was there, including the team. And they all looked happy and excited for him

"It's amazing" Tony grinned. This was not what he had anticipated. This was...ten times better.

Tony walked into the room where Rhodey made him take the head chair of the table

"Happy birthday dad"

He looked as Rose brought forward his birthday cake he had no doubt she baked herself. It was almost a tradition among the two. It was a huge cake, almost three layers also with red-gold frosting. On top were three cake sparklers, a big 'Happy Birthday' topper and golden candles of two number 4s making 44. The dogs tried to lunge at the cake but Clint held them back, commanding them to sit and stay

She placed the cake in front of him

"blow the candles and makes a wish"

Tony did, but the candles reignited. No matter how many times he blew the candles, they kept on reigniting and he fixed a look at Rose

"Trick candles?"

Rose shrugged and an innocent look

Tony looked back at the candles, as, if they offended him personally by not extinguishing and blew one last time with all the, might he could conjure

and a smile made it to his face when the candles went off. But it was only short-lived as they re-ignited

"Really Tony? That's the best you could do?" Clint laughed

"Shut it, Legolas" he grunted and Rose removed the candles before they could melt wax on the cake, and the sparklers.

He picked the ribboned knife before he made a slice out of it and they all started singing the happy birthday song to him. He fed the first bite to Rose, followed by Pepper, Rhodey, Edward, and other kids

Pepper and Angie removed the cake so they could cut it and distribute amongst others with the food

"This is awesome. Honestly, one of the best birthdays I've ever had" Tony grinned looking at the team, who he knew were behind the whole event

"You deserve nothing less" Natasha replied "and to be honest, this is way better than your last birthday party I attended"

Tony scoffed "I'd hardly call that a birthday party"

"Maybe you should let Rose organize all the events. She's amazing at organizing" Bruce added

"she gets that from pepper"

Rose snorted, as the two women returned to their seats

Then came the gifts.

To be honest, Tony looked like a kid with early Christmas with all the gifts he was seeing.

"first from my youngest ones"

Edward and Victoire handed him a gift that was neatly wrapped

"Happy birthday Grandpa Tony" Victire smiled

"Happy birthday gramps" Edward grinned "this is from all of us"

"Thank you, champs" Tony opened the gift. It was a maroon stemless cup customized with the quote-'The Grandfather'. The lid looked shatterproof. Tony chuckled. he turned it around and behind were the names of all the children-Teddy, Vicky, Dom, Louis, Molly and Fred. The names he called them all by

"This is so cool" Tony grinned, scooping both the older kids into his arms and kissing their heads. After that, he placed the cup down and randomly picked one wrapped in a silver wrap and looked it around before carefully opening it. It was a box filled with prank stuff. He looked at George and Angie

"That is something I'm not going to release until Thanksgiving. You just got the first-hand exclusives"

"I can't wait to try them. Thanks, Georgie and Angie"

"If he breaks anything in the lab or office or the tower, you are gonna be in huge trouble, George" Pepper casually said but everyone got the hidden threat

"Yes, mam"

Ron and Mia gifted him a bottle of firewhiskey. Mia shot an apologetic look towards Rose who frowned at her. Right now, mia regretted asking Ron to buy a gift for Tony, 'cause she had forgotten to buy him one. Rose was going to be mad, but she was glad she didn't say anything at the moment. Firewhiskey was a strict no for Tony but then again Ron wouldn't remember it

"This is what I'm talking about, thanks guys" Tony grinned, cradling the bottle close to him "I haven't had one in ages"

That only had others laugh. He placed it down and picked another gift

Tony got a box of a watch-perfume set from Van Cleef and Arpel

"Is that Van Cleef and Arpel?" Clint asked "Damn, that things cost like...a thousand bucks"

"This is a magical edition" Fleur replied, "It had intricate runes along at the strap and both Bill and I added some extra charms o it."

"amazing. Thanks, chérie(*)" Tony grinned

While Clint said it loosely, Rose knew that that particular set must be about 8-10K USD; cheaper for Wizarding world with the exchange rate, of course

Next was a gift from Nat-which was a box full of Iron Man merch. As if Tony didn't own enough

The gift only made Tony laugh "Thanks, Romanoff. I was missing a few of them"

"You don't have a collection" Nat pointed

"True too" tony shrugged and raised the Iron man mug "This is from what I'd be drinking in from now on!"

"yeah yeah" Clint shrugged "Just move on, Stark"

"Gee, Barton. What did you get me?"

He picked Clint's gift and unwrapped it. It was some sophisticated looking technology

"Where did you get it from?" Tony asked, flipping it over

Clint shrugged "Honestly, I found it at a mission of mine about a month ago. Looked like something you'd like to get your hands on"

"Do you even know what it is?" Tony asked

"Why didn't you tell SHIELD?" Nat asked at the same moment

Clint shrugged at both the question "So, what is this?"

Rose took the tech piece and looked over it "An advanced piece of tech. One which can rival our suits"

At the current, Tony and Rose's suits were the highest tech present on Earth and known to mankind.

"where did you find it?" Steve asked

"Some African country, I guess" Clint replied, a bit shocked that he found something like that

"Well, if calibrated properly, this thing could be turned into...awesome sight-enhancing lenses," Tony said and they all could see schematics running through his head

"Later" Rose muttered handing the tech piece back to him

"Thanks, birdbrain" Tony smiled and opened other gifts

Thor also gave him some very advanced pieces of Asgardian tech. Bruce gave him some new lab equipment-a shiny new EMF reader, a spectrometer, a Geiger counter, and some tools. Steve had gifted him a bound file of sorts

"What's this?" Tony asked

"Open it" Steve smiled

Tony did. Inside on huge A1 size sheets were different drawings. Some were pencil sketches while some were colored

tony flipped through them all and smiled

"did you make all of this?" Tony asked

"Yeah" Steve smiled

"didn't know you were this good of an artist, huh" Tony chuckled "thanks, Cpasicle"

Rhodey gave him a pair of Gucci perfume set, one of Tony's regular. Pepper gifted him with a compact collection of photo frames that had tons of photos taken in the last year. Charity events, photos of Pepper ad Tony, Rose and Tony, Tony with someone from the team, candid moments, and a lot. Tony didn't have a doubt that JARVIS had a major role to play in Pepper getting her hands on those photos.

Happy just gifted him a box of his favorite snacks for which Tony gave him a hug. As much as Thor loved-ahem *cough*obsessed*cough*- over pop tarts, Tony loved M&Ms, Skittles and such, each packed separately.

"Rosie, you are left" Ron pointed out

"I'm aware" Rose rolled her eyes and handed Tony a box. Tony sat down and unwrapped a gift to reveal a wooden box with 'AES' engraved on the top. Opening the box, he chuckled. Inside were a brown wallet, a pair of cufflinks, a tie-clip, and a bracelet, all with his initials engraved on them. The tie clip, in fact, had his entire name etched on it. And he knew that Rose had done the engravings herself. They were not as smooth as laser cuts and weren't as crude as an amateur's. The engravings were pretty decent, in her handwriting.

He picked the wallet and smiled bigged. Inside, on the left side, was engraved with the message:

DAD:  
The Man  
The Hero  
The Myth  
The Legend  
The Iron Man

It was again in Rose's handwriting. On the right corner was a small rose-bud. the right side had a pair of photos. One had to be about a decade and a half old.

"Your 30th birthday" Rose supplied

the other photo was a selfie from a couple of weeks ago.

Tony had no doubt that all the things Rose gifted him were covered in invisible/barely-visible protection runes.

"Thanks, peanut" Tony smiled

* * *

The party hyped up when Clint ran the music system. Who knew he was such a good DJ? All the couples-Pepper and Tony, Angie and George, even Mia and Rhodey(Ron refused to dance saying he had two left feet) shared small dances. Thor shared a small dance with Victoire and Molly, Nat with Edward.

Following that, Pepper, Rose, and Mia served dinner, which they all ate to their heart's content. Then came the cake

"So what did you make?" Clint asked

"Champagne cake" Rose smiled

Tony nodded in approval. The kids were given lesser potions compared to adults, but still, Rose's cake got a lot of appreciation. They all chatted, kids telling about their stories and instances, Thor joining in time to time.

Victoire seemed to have developed a small crush over Thor as she stuck to his side the whole night. Dominique wasn't far and had grown fond of Clint. Fred also clung to Thor. Edward, sitting on Tony's lap, had asked if he could meet Hulk, but Bruce had flat out refused, citing Hulk wasn't safe, especially for kids. Edward had pouted but quickly got over when Steve started talking about his WWII days, finding it more interesting. Molly seemed to harbor some awe towards the ex-Soviet assassin, as she kept on glancing at her whenever Nat wasn't looking. Of course, Nat knew and entertained Molly whenever possible.

To say the whole thing went way better.

* * *

It was about 11.40 at night. The Weasleys had left with the kids-except Edward and Victoire who wanted to say over with their grandfather and Aunties Rose and Mia. Happy had left as well since he had chauffer duties the next morning.

"I'll say it a million times. This is one of the best birthdays I've ever had"

Clint laughed "We planned your birthday, Tony, of course, it was awesome"

"And you say I have an ego" Tony scoffed

"Hey Tony" Steve started "Now that you are forty-four, can you act like that more often"

Tony scoffed at that, nursing his glass of red wine "I act just fine" he nodded "Besides, 44 is less than half your age, star-spangled man with a plan. When are you gonna start acting your age?"

Steve shot him a passive look

"Tony" Pepper chided, snuggling to him and Tony shrugged as if he had nothing.

"And to think, Stark's a grandpa at 44. Steve~" Clint looked at the blonde man "What's your plan? When are you gonna be a grandpa?"

"For being a grandpa, I've to be a father first" Steve replied

"When is that good news going to arrive, Captain?" Thor asked with a stupid teasing grin

Steve blushed and rubbed the back of his neck

"Guys" Mia started, chuckling a little too "Can we just leave him alone? The night is about Tony, not Steve"

"Right right, behave." Tony nodded when he noticed Rose curb a yawn

"Tired, baby?" he asked

"Not really" she replied, quite tiredly

"Now that, is a lie" Nat replied

"Rose you are tired," Pepper said "it's clearly written all over your face"

Rose pouted

"and you are not the only one" Thor chuckled, gesturing to his side. Victoire had already dozed off, snuggling to Thor, while Edward was barely keeping his eyes open. Tony glanced at his grandson on his lap and chuckled. He placed a kiss on Edward's hair and pulled the boy closer, while Pepper played with his dark red hair.

"Rose" Steve started

"Okay, alright" Rose frowned mockingly and stood up and picked Victoire in her arms

She went to pick Edward, but Clint picked him first from Tony's hold

"Let's go"

"I can carry them, Katniss"

"you are half-asleep, Rosie. No way can you carry two sleeping children. Come on"

Rose was quite tired to argue, so she didn't

"Well, I'm calling it a night too" Clint called to others "Good night. Happy birthday once again, Shellhead"

With that, the two left. Slowly following that, others started leaving too. They all might not admit it, but they all had gotten tired over the day. Slowly they all trickled to their rooms.

Tony kissed Pepper on lips "Why don't you head upstairs, I'll be there in a while"

Pepper nodded with a smile and left

"Not asleep?" Steve asked, gathering around the throw-aways. Tony started picking the wine glasses

"Not really" Tony replied and took a deep breath as he started helping Steve clean the room a little

"Thank you, Steve. For everything you did today"

"Rose planned it all, telling us what to do and stuff. We followed her"

"Still, it wouldn't have been this amazing if only Rosie planed it" Tony chuckled

"Are you guys getting better?" Steve asked, collecting all the wrapping papers

"Yeah" Tony nodded "Birthday certainly helped. And don't think I haven't noticed you and others trying to keep her and my minds occupied all the time"

Steve gave him a sheepish look which made him laugh

"You knew?"

"You guys have been living here for almost 6 months now" Tony chuckled "and never once did you approach me or Rose asking us to upgrade your suit or weapons or asked us to teach you how to work tech. Clint, sure, but none of you others. Or Natasha asking for group dinner at some restaurant, out of the blue. Clint working with me to make new arrows and stuff. You accompanying us both for grocery runs. So yes, we figured, Captain Obvious"

Seve chuckled "We tried our best"

"and trust me, it's working"

Steve smiled under the appreciation for his efforts.

Both the men worked in silence for a while before Steve spoke up

"You and Rose are very different from what I had originally thought of you"

"You mean from Widow's SHIELD assessment?" Tony raised a brow

As they all had come to realize, Black widow and Natasha were different. Black Widow was a spy and assassin. Natasha was a fun-loving, passive-aggressive, and caring woman. They weren't the same. None of them were. Hulk and Bruce, Steve and Captain America, clint and Hawkeye, Rose and her alter-ego, him and Iron Man, they were all different sides of the same person, quite literally in some cases. In their suits, they were a team. Out of their suits, they were a family.

That made Tony realize that Rose didn't have a codename like the rest of the team did. He made a mental note about it to talk to her later

Steve shrugged "You both don't let the world see the real you, do you? You both wear a mask, quite brilliantly at that."

"Thanks?"

"Maybe you should try being you sometimes, Tony. The real you"

Tony chuckled and kept a hand on his hip

"It's not as easy as it looks, Steve." he breathed "Rose and I... we have complicated pasts, to put it mildly. There's a reason we...uh...as you said, wear masks."

Steve noted, it was the first time probably when Tony called him Steve and not Cap, Captain, or any other stupid nickname.

"I can't say about others, but your pasts don't matter to me. It's your present"

Tony gave him a tight smile

"Not everyone shares the same sentiment, Cap"

Steve inhaled sharply "You're right"

Tony snorted "Aren't I always"

.

.

.

...And that's how the moment was ruined.

Tony chuckled again, looking at his watch. 12:05 AM

"Well officially my birthday is over and officially, I'm heading to bed" Tony replied

Steve nodded

"Head to bed, Captain. My robots can clean the mess"

Steve looked around and joined Tony to head out.

they entered the elevator and waited in silence for Steve's floor to arrive

"Hey Steve"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for the pep talk"

Steve nodded with a small smile and walked out fo the room

"Good night, Tony"

"'Night Capsicle. May you dream of hot young ladies"

Steve sighed as the elevator doors shut with Tony's laughter. Why Tony had to do such stuff?

But then again, he wouldn't trade a single person on the team for anyone else. With a fond smile on his face, Steve headed to his room for a much-needed sleep.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*)Chérie-Sweetheart in french
> 
> A little cameo by Weasleys and Teddy. Just a little clarification,
> 
> The year of birth and their current age is given below
> 
> Rose S. -1990 (22 Y.O)  
> George W. -1988 (25 Y.O)  
> Teddy -2007 (6 Y.O)  
> Victoire -2008 (5 Y.O)  
> Dominique -2011 (2 Y.O)  
> Molly II -2010 (3 Y.O)  
> Fred II -2010 (3 Y.O)
> 
> Read and REVIEW!


	21. Ephemeral Content

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team's introduced to the world of social media. Mia is NOT amused.

A nice Friday night. A nice _regular_ Friday night at the Avengers Tower.

Thor was on dinner duty. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce lazily slumped on the couch watching Supernatural (apparently Starks were big fans who got the team addicted; One of them is a real-time witch, so why not?).

Mia was sitting on the kitchen island, looking over their monthly reports to be submitted at SHIELD.

Tony was on one end of the couch being a regular father as he oiled Rose's hair, who was sitting on the carpeted floor right below him with closed eyes. She ran the company, the least he could do was relieve her of some stress.

Steve was seated on the other end of the couch, reading a novel-The Fault in our Stars, half-heartedly paying attention to the TV.

So, everything was normal.

The elevator opened with its signature ding and Pepper stepped out, dressed in casuals. She smiled at the team and sat next to Tony, her eyes landing on Rose. 

While the young girl looked almost relaxed and asleep from the massage she was receiving from Tony, Pepper knew better.

"Saw your Instagram feed for the birthday. Nice Caption." Pepper smiled.

Rose chuckled.

Tony stopped for a minute before leaning closer to Rose, "How many likes did it get?"

"About 3 million."

Clint, sitting next to Pepper, snorted.

"She did." Pepper nodded

Clint looked at her and raised a brow, "You posted the party pictures on Instagram?"

Rose opened her eyes and looked at Clint, "Uh...yes"

"With me and Nat on it?"

"Yes."

Clint blinked, "Are you crazy?"

Rose rolled her eyes as she brought her knees closer to her chest. "The world knows how you two look. Not that it matters."

Clint pouted and looked at Nat, "You are okay with it?"

Nat shrugged, "She does have a point," and looked at her, "How many likes?"

"3 M"

Nat grinned a little and Bruce chuckled.

"and counting." Rose nodded, only for Tony to set her head straight and stop her to move.

"Stop moving."

"You saw it?" Pepper asked Nat

Nat shrugged, "I don't have an Instagram account"

"what's Instagram?"

And in that split second, the air of the communal did a 180.

Rose, Tony, and Pepper blinked at Steve(who had asked that question) while giving Nat disbelieving looks.

"Are you guys for real?" Tony asked

"...Yes," Steve answered, though it sounded quite hesitant.

"Who here doesn't have an Instagram or Facebook or Twitter account?" Rose asked

Five hands raised. One person snorted in the kitchen.

"You are living with two tech geniuses for over six months. And you have no clue on social media?" Mia half turned, giving the five of them amused glances

"I know what social media is." Clint scoffed and crossed his arms as JARVIS lowered the TV volume, "I just never bothered to make an account."

"What he said." Bruce nodded

"Ditto," Nat nodded "Plus, social media doesn't serve well with spies."

Steve looked around, "Is someone going to explain to me what you guys are talking about?"

"Blasphemy!" Rose muttered quite loudly, "This is blasphemy! We need to educate these backward illiterates. We need to right this wrong!"

Tony nodded in complete approval, "I'm with you on this, pumpkin"

"Everyone get closer!" Rose demanded, "Thor get your arse over here. Dinner can wait"

Thor chuckled a little but did,

Rose sat on the couch as Pepper moved to the kitchen. She wouldn't mind finishing the dinner, especially when she knew that the whole team would get hungry by the time the session would be over.

"Don't you want to be a part of this?" Mia asked Pepper

Pepper chuckled, "I'd rather not"

* * *

The next 30 minutes were spent teaching the 'uncivilized' people about social media and its glory. By the end of it, the Starks had everyone make an account of Instagram

Thor asked, "What shall I put in the bio?"

"Whatever you wanna" Rose replied "interests, job, basic info. Like, go for Prince of Asgard, God of thunder, whatever you want to." Rose smiled, "Oh, and just get it checked by me or dad before you complete it."

The last thing they needed was a social media mishap at the hands of one of the Avengers.

Steve nodded, "and username?"

"Keep it simple so people can find it" Tony answered

The father-daughter duo helped the team wherever they stuck and didn't stop until each and every one of them had a proper account.

"and now you send the follow requests," Tony instructed them, except the spies who already knew how to do it, and it started out small.

Steve looked into Nat's phone before went back to his. She was looking at Rose's account.

So Steve typed Rose's name in the search bar as she had shown him and clicked when her name appeared, his eyes skimming through Rose's profile. The photo she had used was simple yet gorgeous. And her profile was amazing- again, simple yet to the point. He clicked the "follow" tab below it and soon a small popup appeared on the lower side. he tapped on it and there was a notification(that was what it was called, right?) that Rose Stark was following him back now. He nodded and looked for Tony's ID before he went on with others.

Thor would get stuck more, being from another world, but he managed with Rose's constant help.

After that, Rose and Tony helped them all make Facebook and Twitter accounts, also showing them the ropes on how stuff's done. Once that was done, Rose created an official Avengers account on all three platforms before she looked at Mia,

"Pretty please" she batted her eyelashes.

Mia groaned, "fine"

Though she did agree to manage the official social media account, Mia knew her job would also require her to make sure none of them, except Tony and Rose, post any offensive or biased material.

"What did I just sign up for?" Mia muttered tiredly.

"I'm gonna say a lot of headaches and a lot of extra work." Pepper laughed, which earned a glare from the witch.

Pepper just giggled and looked at the team.

"Dinner's ready. Get your butts over here. You can play with your phones later!"

* * *

Steve spent the rest of the night barely asleep but mostly on the phone, trying to make his social media accounts presentable. He sighed, having no idea what to do.

"JARVIS?" Steve asked, turning around on his bed, "How can I make my social media profile more presentable to the general public?"

"Captain, you can start by choosing a right and optimum profile picture that shows your best side. Then make your media presence more consistent by posting quite regularly. Post content that is relatable and would reach to masses. Is that all or should I provide more information, Captain?"

Steve bit his lip, "I think it'd be all for, right now. Thanks, JARVIS"

"Always ready to help, Captain"

Steve nodded and went back to his Insta account. He understood JARVIS to most of his part, but still...

He thought of asking Rose or Tony. But it was past midnight and Rose'd most probably be asleep. Tony would most probably be in the lab downstairs, not wanting to be disturbed. He sighed. He could really use some help when an idea struck him. Instead, he opened Rose's Instagram profile and checked the contents. The bio seemed simple yet effective.

He scrolled down to her posts. The latest post was 4 days ago about Tony's birthday. The photos made him smile. The party was great. And the photos just depicted it-Tony cutting cake, a small video of him trying to blow trick candles before Rose removed them, group photos, the kids, the team with Tony and a few more. All their of their blinding smiles and happy expressions. It had 2,98,873 likes and thousands of comments.

He scrolled down and found a solo picture of Rose and Tony from some time ago when either of them was not paying attention. And this one had a message(Caption, he reminded himself) below,

**rosestark** _I love you not only because you are my dad, but because you're a caring father, my partner-in-crime, my lab associate, my inspiration, my driving force, and my best friend. Despite how annoyed I get when you do your silly antics, I know that you know that I still and always will love you from the bottom of my heart. Happy 44th Birthday Daddy @iamironman._

He chuckled. He had meant what he said to Tony on his birthday night after the party. And despite all this time, the relationship and love between the father-daughter duo always amazed him, no matter how much he witnessed it.

Below it was millions of likes and thousands of comments, starting with Pepper, Mia, Rhodey, and Happy and moving down to many more.

He kept on scrolling below. A good portion of the photos was that of her work in the office or lab or field. Some were her vacationing, including their time on the tropical island. But there were a lot of photos.

He almost checked them all before he switched and looked into Tony's profile. He didn't expect it but Tony's profile was equally maintained and sophisticated. Photos of him in his workshop which were taken most probably by an unsuspecting Rose, Pepper, or JARVIS. Then there were photos of his suits, vintage cars, some selfies with Pepper, Rose, or the puppies. A few photos with Bruce here and there, but he posted quite constantly, just like Rose.

He quickly switched over to Facebook, where he wasn't surprised to find equally sophisticated profiles for both the Starks. They were public figures, it would mean much better if they had presentable profiles only. Not to mention impressing ones.

Steve looked over at the time. Past 1 AM. With a sigh, he went kept his phone back and dragged his covers over him. He could work on social media the next day

* * *

Mia was not surprised when she found the team, minus the Starks had become devoted to developing their social media accounts. From Clint asking her opinions for a good profile picture (which only showed his side profile and was highly edited by shadows and contrasts) to Bruce seeking her help for his first post.

Forgetting breakfast-it was her and Rose's turn-she opened her own social media accounts to check over everyone. So far everything seemed smooth. Rose and Tony had made a post on all three informing the world about the Avengers team officially entering the world of social media. Curious, she checked the first profile that appeared and happened to be Thor's. And her eyes widened. The previous night, he had only 10 followers. Right now he had 2.6M followers and counting if she knew better.

She knew others would be getting the same. Soon appeared fan-posts that tagged the team members or the official account. Pepper was right. She had signed in for a lot of headaches.

* * *

Social media was not something Thor understood. He was not used to Midgardian customs. So he pestered Tony, asking questions about everything he didn't understand(which was actually everything!), while Bruce would look at the two amused.

Thor pestered Tony to a point, here Tony set aside his tools and looked at the ceiling

"JARVIS, ask Capsicle to get his ass down here. I'm going to give a Social media 1-oh-1 and I'm not gonna fucking repeat it!"

Steve came down in three minutes, shooting confused glances at the collected men.

"Rogers!"

Steve looked at Tony, who looked a bit cross,

"sit down and listen with your utter attention. No one speaks in between!"

Bruce almost laughed as Steve obeyed and sat next to the blonde Asgardian and Tony began his social media 1-oh-1.

Bruce wouldn't admit if asked, but he closely listened to Tony as he told the blondes everything about social media do's and don'ts. Just because he knew of them doesn't mean he knew how to work them

* * *

Nat woke up to the constant buzzing of her phone. With a grunt she picked it and unlocked the screen, seeing about 12 notifications from Insta and FB.

the first pic was that of Clint in one of the tower's gyms, clad in a tank top, sweating and tired clearly after a workout. Though she did wonder who clicked that picture. The captain down below just contained a #JUSTDOIT

Natasha frowned. It had been posted just 21 minutes ago.

The next post was of Thor, quite similar to Clint just without any captain or hashtags. She exhaled. the two of them had to be together in the gym for that to happen since his picture was also posted 20 minutes ago.

then was Steve's. Someone had caught him on camera during his morning run and posted the video, tagging him. Steve shared that same story.

It was followed by Bruce. Nat scoffed. She thought Bruce was all about laying a low profile, but apparently that rule didn't apply to social media. The photo was of Tony sleeping on the couch down in their joint lab, along with the mess that was spare parts, incomplete suit parts, trick arrows on the table, and stuff. Tony must have gone to sleep early in the morning. The caption was-

 **brucebanner** _Catching some Zzzz's after pulling an allnighter @iamironman_

The last post was from Rose. it was a small video. She was in bed, sleepily smiling at the camera while Hedwig, Arrow, and Rouge were perched on her back and pillow respectively as they preened her hair. It didn't seem like Rose had any problem but rather enjoyed it, except when she'd wince if one of the birds tugged her hair a bit hard. The caption just read-

 **rosestark** _Here I am waking up to special salon level treatment from my personal stylists, who are making sure I look orderly and neat for the day ahead. #birdstagram #wokeuptothis #owls &hawk_

She was aware that Rose posted almost every second day. Being young and resourceful, she was quite active on social media accounts.

The rest of the notifications were from Facebook and Twitter which informed her of the same. Posts from all of them. Obligatory, she liked and commented on all their photos, like a good friend she was.

Then she realized, she was the only one without a post. No way was she going to stay behind.

* * *

Mia bit her nails as she sat in the communications room the tower, waiting for the reply that the Avengers had finally taken care of the threat. The threat being a huge genetic experiment gone wrong which proved that Godzilla could be made if you are not being too careful.

The whole team was called down to Florida trying to capture the creature without pissing it further or hurting it.

suddenly the receiver blared with static before Steve's voice came over,

" _Threat neutralized. Damage control is needed down here"_

Mia nodded, quickly doing that,

"How bad are we looking?"

" _A few civilians are critically injured and more than a couple buildings reduced to rubble"_

"Anyone hurt on the team?"

" _I think Hawkeye's got a fracture. Widow's got a head injury. Stark's got a concussion"_

"Which one?"

" _Younger one. Iron Man has a fracture, as he just told me"_

"You?"

_"Just a few scrapes. Compared to others, better"_

Mia nodded as she realized the lack of codename for Rose's superhero persona. Another thing to be discussed with the team.

"Any casualties?"

"..."

"Captain?"

A brief silence. " _Two. The scientists who were eaten by the monster"_

"Copy that." she nodded, "Get back to the tower."

_"Roger that. ETA 30 minutes"_

Mia sighed, removing her headset piece and she rubbed her temple.

"JARVIS, prepare the medbay."

Mia shook her head and started typing an email to Fury telling him the basic rough details. The report, well she was going to make Steve do this one.

She had just sent the email when her phone chimed. Usually, she would not be receiving any messages at that current point of time, so that got her attention. And she opened the notification, her eyes widened.

It was Tony, posting an image on Insta just 1 minute ago!

The monster was down, of course, knocked out so SHIELD scientists to figure out a way to turn the poor lizard back, and everyone was in the frame one way or the other. Rose was leaning on some wall, in her armor, next to a calmed down Bruce who seemed tired, sitting on the ground. Clint was lying on the ground, Nat next to him. Steve was helping Thor from under some building rubble. And Tony, while supporting a few bruises on the face, had a selfie with the whole team with the caption

 **iamironman** _Just a regular Tuesday at work. Defeating monsters and keeping the civilians safe. @rosestark @brucebanner @blackwidow @hawkeye @thorodinson @captainamerica #Avengersarethebest #savingtheday #heroforever_

And within those two minutes, there were about 230 comments and about a thousand likes. The hell was wrong with him?

Tony had never posted mission selfies before. What the hell had gotten in him?

Mia groaned when she realized that Fury was yet to be informed about the now social media active Avengers. Oh, he was going to have a field day. Or her head. Or maybe both

* * *

"What's fanart?"

Seven pairs of eyes landed on Thor,

"Uh..." Rose began, leaning little forward, "Fanart is basically art created by fans about their favorite characters or people they idolize in the real or virtual world. Usually, It's just someone's imagination. Why?"

"Someone posted this photo and named Lady Natasha and Barton" Thor turned his phone to show others. It was definitely a fanart, yes. It had Clint, in his usual black spy costume, a quiver on his back and his bow across his torso with Natasha shoved over his shoulder, as he carried her away from someone who had made her mad. She was frowning and pointing finger at someone and Clint was just smiling fondly. There was definitely the artist's name but below that picture was a hashtag- _#blackhawk_

Rose broke out laughing, so did Tony and, Mia. Clint blinked at the fanart and Natasha scowled. Steve was still studying it and Bruce just snickered.

"This is epic!" Rose grinned then faced Mia, "You post this on the official account, can you?"

Nat's head snapped towards the girls and her scowl deepened

"If you want the Black Widow to off you while you were sleeping," Steve muttered, noticing the murderous glare Nat was shooting the two.

"As if." Rose scoffed

"Are you challenging me?" Nat raised a brow

"May-be" Rose winked with a sly smile

Nat stared at the girl for a few seconds, "It's on, Stark"

Rose shrugged then looked at Mia, "Post this. Now!"

Mia chuckled and nodded before looking at everyone "You know, the other day I was just going through the internet and I found this wonderful place where people were creating their OTPs and vote for their favorites."

"From the team?" Tony asked

"Uh-huh," Mia nodded, "And I've got to give the credit to whosoever made them, 'cause some of them are just too good"

"Like what?" Bruce asked

"Couldn't be worse than that fanart" Clint scoffed "Thor take that away!"

Mia pulled her phone and quickly opened the page she had bookmarked

"Right. So here're so many of them"

"What are the top 10?" Rose asked, trying to sneak in but Mia pushed her back with a glare

"Stay down. I'll tell you," Mia bit her lip "Okay. #1 spot is a tie between three, do guess who they are about" she added "Okay, there's Stony"

"Steve and Tony" Nat replied

"Blackhawk"

"Clint and Nat"

"And, oh, this is a cute one. Stose"

"Me and Steve" Rose chuckled and shot a smile at Steve

Steve's face grew warm when he realized that there were people out there who actually wanted him to get together with Rose. Going as far as to give a portmanteau to them. And Rose didn't seem to mind it, rather. She was grinning and she totally looked be-

"I'm not gay!"

"People know that Tony." Bruce replied "Your relation with Pepper is not really a secret"

Tony scoffed before looking at Steve, "and no offense, Spangles, but seriously? If I was looking for a blonde with blue eyes, I'd have chosen...uh..."

"Chosen who?" Clint prodded

"anyone but not Spangles! I mean I know he's hot and attractive and gives a whole new definition to tall, blonde and handsome, and I while completely support LGBTQ community, I'll reiterate, I. Am. Not. Gay! So you, Rogers! Don't even think of having a chance with me! I'm a one-woman man and I love my woman. The end!"

Rose blinked at her father's explosion. She really wanted to laugh. It was so funny. And she was pretty sure if her father had said the same things about 5 years ago, she would have laughed at his face and wouldn't have believed him, especially the 'one-woman man' part. But she had always supported Pepperony(she won't admit it, even on her deathbed, but she made that one up and got it viral) and would support it till death.

"Well, you are not my type either, Stark." Steve snorted, "I like women"

"Am I the only one noticing the sexual tension here between the two?" Nat whispered to the rest. Rose raised a brow but didn't comment. Well, that was definitely an interesting 'what-if'. What if both her father and Steve were gay and fell for each other? She didn't really know what her feelings would be so she stayed shut.

Mia loudly cleared her throat "Moving on. We got...uh...CapWidow, IronWidow,-"

"Not with Nat too!" Tony cried

"I'm a woman, Stark!"

"I didn't mean th-"

Mia blinked, "Actually, this is between Rose and Nat"

"what?" Tony asked, surprised, Nat forgotten

"Yeah. Wait...Oh"

"Oh?" Nat asked

"So finding that Rose doesn't hold any superhero codename, which I had planned on discussing with Rosie, there are polls out there. Suggestions for your superhero name"

"What all we got?" Rose leaned in

"We got Iron Maiden...Valkyrie...Iron Woman...Iron Lass...IronHeart. Yup, that's it"

"Iron Lass?" Bruce chuckled

"It's not a secret that I spend a lot of time in Scotland and the UK." Rose shrugged before looking at Mia "What got the highest polls?"

"Almost a tie between Iron Maiden and Valkyrie"

"I like Valkyrie." Thor nodded "They were an elite force of warrior women on Asgard who defended the throne with everything"

"Were?" Steve asked

"Aye, were" Thor nodded "They got extinct a few centuries ago for causes I don't know. I grew up listening to their stories" And then he looked at Rose "And Rose here is a fine warrior who is master of combat as well as magic"

"Nuh-uh. Iron Maiden, it is" Tony argued back "Her suit's a spin-off of my armor and I am Iron Man."

"Shouldn't Rose decide what she wants to be called?" Nat raised her head and suddenly 7 heads turned to the pink-haired girl

Rose shrugged, "I found Morrigan a nice name"

"Morrigan?" Steve asked

"She's a Celtic/Irish goddess of war, fate, and victory. She used to be one of my patron gods"

Steve's memory jogged back to the mid-1920s. He barely remembered his mother telling him about a goddess of war and bloodshed in stories. Though he couldn't remember the name, he was pretty sure it was vaguely familiar to Morrigan. After all his parents were Irish immigrants. They'd know about Celtic/Irish gods

"Well, we'll work on that later." Rose muttered "I need some time to think"

"Is no one going to raise the point that people are hoping Rose and Nat to get together?" Clint raised a brow. The expressions changed so sudden as if they just remembered the ship-IronWidow

"So?" Nat raised a brow at Rose and gave her a saucy look

"Listen, love," Rose slightly leaned ahead in a very flirty way, towards Nat, "If I swung towards that side even by very small odds, I wouldn't have hesitated from dragging you upstairs to my room the first time I saw you and...you get the picture, I hope. But unfortunately, I'm straight."

"Oh pity." Nat sighed, mock sadness "I was expecting so much. Why did you have to break my heart?"

The two women looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"Ladies," Bruce awkwardly cleared his throat, "Please don't ever do that again."

"JollyGreen's right" Tony nodded "Not that I have any issue if Rose was into girls, but please don't ever flirt with each other. It looks creepy"

"It was kinda hot" Clint nodded receiving a smack from Bruce "But agreed, yes. creepy"

Thor laughed "I think Rose and Lady Natasha would have made an amazing pair. Pity, the Norns weren't in their favor"

"I think it was good that the Norns," Clint rolled his eyes, "weren't in favor of IronWidow. Lord knows what will happen to the world should these two come together"

Rose and Nat shared a grin with each other

"speaking or relationships" Mia spoke up "Steve is not the only guy people pair you with, Tony"

"Who else?" Tony asked

Mia jabbed her fore-finger at Tony and then jabbed her thumb at Bruce

"It actually got two names. IronHulk and.." she chuckled

"Mia?" Clint poked Mia's knee

Mia barked a laugh "ScienceHusbands"

Tony and Bruce shared a look as others snickered while some openly laughed (Thor, Rose, and Clint)

"I hate internet" Tony muttered "No offense, Brucie"

"Yeah, none taken. I'm not really fond of these, either"

"Can't they pair me up with a woman? What's with making me gay?!"

"They actually pair you with a woman" Mia nodded

"Lemme guess. Pepperony" Rose smiled

"Pepperony?" Nat asked, then nodded "Not bad"

"That! is my OTP. The rest are trash. Pepperony is the best" Tony grinned

"There's another. It's quite known. Pinkhawk."

"Me and Rose?" Clint asked

"Actually, yeah" Mia nodded then frowned

"Gross" Clint looked at Rose "I love you, Rosie, but you are more of my little sister"

"Feeling's mutual, brother" Rose grimaced

"Mia?" Steve looked at Mia, who seemed a little surprised for some reason "You okay?"

"Wow" she breathed before looking at the other witch "How close were you and Johnny?"

"Why?" Rose frowned, neither noticing the tension in certain people at the mention of that man

"there's another ship. And It's quite popular. Actually, it's the second most popular. IronTorch"

"Really?" Tony scowled before looking at Rose

"I swear, I haven't seen him since Valentine's day, that's like three months." Rose paused, thinking "oh wait. I saw him once in the middle when you guys turned into children and Doom attacked. But that's it"

"Well, your escapades weren't really hidden" Nat added "Even SHIELD suspected that you two were together"

"Oh, we did date. Quite seriously, but that was years ago"

"and the Internet is still not over you two?" Bruce raised a brow

"Apparently not. If they are shipping me with Johnny" Rose rolled her eyes "Worst ship on that list. Move on"

"You know what?" Tony stood up "Close that. No more ship names for tonight. I had enough"

"But,-"

"No. Enough!"

"Whatever, Stark"

* * *

You might ask how it would look like when shit hit the fan within the Avengers Tower. Well, this is how it looked:-

It started when Clint accidentally discovered fanfictions. It started when someone posted something on Twitter and tagged Clint. It was a fanfiction, that the person was suggesting Hawkeye should read. So Clint did. And he nearly fell off his bed laughing. He didn't waste another moment in telling everyone else about the fanfiction which was about Steve and Thor, struggling in a world that was not theirs. The worst part, a lot of it was what had happened at least once with the two blonde men.

Unfortunately, Bruce discovered the darker side of the same-Smut fictions. He accidentally read one about Nat and Rose(turns out people supported IronWidow hella lot; something about two gorgeous, desirable, skilled, and deadly women getting attracted to each other.) and cried he hadn't. He could never unsee that! or forget, for that matter! For God's sake, one of them was his friend and other his pseudo-niece!

Following that, Bruce threatened to Hulk out and beat the crap out of anyone who dare read another fanfiction. There wasn't a need to be told twice. Tony (not so) politely asked JARVIS, to block every single fanfiction and fanart website from all their phones and/or laptops.

JARVIS did that without a further nudge.

* * *

Rose was going through her tab. Most of the work was done and all that was left was final paperwork that Pepper had to draw, so she'll leave her to it. Rose threw the tab on the couch next to her and stretched and looked around the communal.

Nat was on the beanbag, eyes glued on her phone. Other than the two women, only Steve was the one present, doing the dishes. The rest were either doing gym or lab. And Rose was bored.

shrugging, she got up, stretched again, and then entered the kitchen. She pulled her long gradient hair in a messy top bun, and placed a kettle on the stove, making herself some tea. While it brewed, she pulled a dishcloth and started wiping the wet dishes dry. Steve spared her a glance but said nothing. It wasn't uncommon for them to help others if they had nothing to do.

By the time, the tea was done, so were the dishes. So Rose placed the last of dishes in the cupboards, and poured tea in two mugs, handing one to Steve. Steve took it without a word and settled against the counter as Rose jumped on top of it, one leg tucked under her butt.

"When are you guys heading to bed?" Nat asked

Rose finished her tea sooner and washed her mug, placing it back

"Let's go"

Nat nodded, pocketing her phone as Rose approached her

"Are you sure you can't sleep in my room tonight?" Rose asked, a bit flirtily

"Are you sure only sleep's going to be there?" Nat raised a brow, a mischievous smirk on her lips

"That, I cannot guarantee. But we should, you know, get together once" Rose winked and linked her arm with Nat

Nat rolled her eyes "You know if we kept this up, Golden Boy over there is gonna have a heart attack. Right, Cap?" she looked at Steve

Steve rolled his eyes "Just for your knowledge, Widow, I'm not that back-minded. And neither am I homophobic. Just because I'm from a time where same-sex relationships weren't openly practiced, doesn't mean I object them"

"So you are okay with us?" Nat raised a brow mischievously and smirked

Steve narrowed his eyes. Internally he hoped Nat wouldn't notice him fidgeting. Nope, he wasn't okay with his crush sleeping or doing anything more with his friend. But for the sake of his own composure, he shrugged

"What's wrong with you both getting together?"

Nat was taken aback before she grinned and looked at Rose, who was grinning back

"We just got the seal of approval from Captain America." Rose nodded "We should totally get together. Would save me from a lot of one-nighter and ex-boyfriends tailing me"

"What do you say? tomorrow night, seven? I'll reserve a seat at our favorite pizza joint"

"It's a date, darling" Rose reached and placed a small kiss on the edge of Nat's lips "Don't be late"

And she skipped rest of her way to her floor

Nat turned to look at Steve who was looking at the two gobsmacked before she broke out laughing

"This is what you get when you give Rose some incentive" she chuckled "and I should thank you, actually. For hooking me up with Rose" she winked and then headed for the stairs

For once, Steve couldn't tell if Nat was joking or was she really serious

* * *

Everyone knew Tony was a hypocrite, at times. Saying something and then doing the opposite just a few minutes later.

In this case, despite his initial outburst of being shipped with Steve and Bruce, he really grew fond of them. So he started taking pictures of himself, sometimes in his lab or in the kitchen with stupid captions and tagging either or both the men. Sometimes it had Steve while he worked in the gym with his muscles and abs peeking or Bruce being a total and adorable dork.

It only made others question his sanity while having a good laugh since it usually made the other two men flush and embarrassed them to no end

"Hey Spangles, wanna join me for the grocery run?" Tony asked, looking through his lashes at the captain while he worked in his lab. Steve had come there to collect him for lunch so, he wasn't going to say no to the opportunity. He slightly twisted in his rotating chair, while looking at Steve

Steve just crossed his arms and frowned "No"

"Oh come on, Capsicle. It'll be fun. Besides, I know you have nothing to do this evening." Tony rested his elbow on the tabletop and kept his cheek on his fist, looking at Steve mock-fondly "Unless you have something to do this evening and I don't know"

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes "I have nothing to d-"

"then give me company!"

"-o. But you have to do your work on your own, Tony. Now if you are done, Clint is done with lunch. Come on"

"Only if you promise to come with me"

Steve sighed

Before he could say anything, the lab doors opened and Rose entered. She made her way to Tony and wrapped her arms around her father's neck from behind and rested her chin on top of his head

"Wondered what took you two to get upstairs for lunch," she said and looked at Steve "What's wrong?"

"He won't come with me for the grocery run" Tony complained

Rose raised a brow at Tony and then looked at Steve then back at Tony

"I'll come"

Tony turned around a little and looked at Rose "Got nothing to do?"

"Not for a while. The office is getting a little boring, actually" Rose admitted "So I'm free today. I'll come with you"

Tony reached and kissed the side of her temple, which made her smile

"Lunch, now, dad"

She unwrapped her arms and Tony got up, pointing an accusatory finger at Steve

"I hate you. We are so breaking up" then looked at Rose "I love you"

"Yeah yeah. Me too" Rose chuckled, pushing him towards the door "We'll be right there"

Once Tony left Rose sighed and looked at Steve, amused

"What's your excuse?"

Steve shrugged "Nothing"

Rose chuckled and shook her head fondly "Lunch first. Let's go"

The two made their way upstairs and joined others

Rose felt her phone vibrate repeatedly after lunch when she was about to head to her lab. She checked it to find a photo from Tony in which she was tagged. it was a picture of the three in the lab before the lunch when they were talking about the 'grocery trip' which had to be taken by JARVIS

 **iamironman** _when you get shut down by @captainamerica but @rosestark comes to rescue._ 😔 _*sigh* #stony #rejectedlove_ 💔 _#daughterlove #daughtertofather_

Rose chuckled before looking at Steve, who looked heavily blushing and a mix between dying of embarrassment and killing Tony out of sheer frustration. Finally, he kept his phone down on the table and left, probably to vent up in the gym before he could accidentally hurt Tony.

* * *

Clint didn't think of it when he created the poll on Facebook.

**Hawkeye**

_Vote for your favorite Avenger!_

  * _Amazing Hawkeye_
  * _Black Widow_
  * _Rose Stark(Codename yet to be decided)_
  * _ShellHead_
  * _Capsicle_
  * _Jolly Green_
  * _Thunderbird_



He put the timer for 48 hours.

"Did you make a public poll on Facebook?" Mia asked when she found herself tagged in the post

"Yup" Clint grinned "Just want to prove everyone that I'm the best Avenger"

"Sure" Tony scoffed "Wait till you see the results"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"See for yourself"

When Clint did (after 48 hours of creating the poll), his eye totally did not twitch on the results

  * _Rose Stark(Codename yet to be decided)_  
1.8M
  * _ShellHead_  
1.8M
  * _Thunderbird_  
1.2M
  * _Capsicle_  
99K
  * _Black Widow_  
66K
  * _Jolly Green_  
17K
  * _Amazing Hawkeye_  
13K



If anyone found Clint lying on the couch, face pressed into it and heard his barely audible sobs, well no one commented. They just left him to drown in his sorrow. And if later, ever, Clint found a bottle of an $800 worth Laphroaig Scotch next to the couch with a stick-it note on it with a

_We love you, birdbrain  
-T&R_

he certainly didn't cry harder

* * *

Rose stormed into the training room, looked around, head whipping wildly as a few strands of hair slipped from her tight-knit french braid. She finally spotted the person she was looking for and headed there.

Nat was the first person to notice her and she quickly swiped her legs under Clint's and then pinned him on the mat.

"Everything okay, Rose?" she asked

Clint craned his neck and looked at her upside down, "Oh hey, Rosie"

"Hey," she offhandedly remarked, eyes glaring holes into a particular person's head, who noticed it and gulped,

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, slowly standing up from where he was seated on the floor.

Rose took a few deep breaths,

"Are you out of your mind?" she asked

"..." Steve looked at Nat and Clint, who was looking at him.

"What did you do?" Nat asked, joining Rose

Suddenly the doors opened and Tony entered, Bruce and Thor hot on his heels, a look of panic and anger on his face as he too looked for someone, who turned out to be a Steve.

"You, Capsicle!" he called, "What the fuck did you do that has Jack Dorsey threatening to sue me?"

"Jack Dorsey?" Clint asked

"Founder and CEO of Twitter," Rose supplied, "He called Brittany a while ago but couldn't connect with me. After which he called dad."

"Steve did something?" Bruce asked the two Starks "What did he do?"

"Ask him," Tony grunted

Steve gulped again "I..." he trailed off, suddenly squirming a little under all their gaze.

"He called the VP, I quote, _'an obnoxious little worm trying to sanitize Ellis' lies. He has no shame. Keep tap dancing, you fool. we all see you. I didn't crash a HYDRA ship and spend 70 years under the ice to wake up to this'_. And he set the spark to a huge fire between Ellis-supporters and Ellis-haters, especially since it came from _The_ Captain America."

"You did what?!" Bruce gaped at Steve. Clint's jaw was almost touching the floor while Nat didn't show it, she was very surprised. Thor, as usual, had no clue what was going on.

"And this fire went so wild that it overloaded Twitter's servers and the entire system shut down. And since Spangles here uses Stark servers, Dorsey is threatening to sue me if I didn't pay for the damages."

"...I just voiced my opinion" Steve finally answered a long pregnant pause.

Clint scoffed, "Who knew America's Golden Boy could pull such a stunt? Geez," Clint snorted then looked at the billionaires, "How bad is the damage?"

"Well, it's nothing I can't handle. Besides, our legal team had been on a vacation long enough and need some proper work." She sighed and pushed back all the strands that had gotten loose, "And for future reference, could you please be a little more subtle while posting political statements? We are not telling you not to, just...think before you type."

"Duley noted." Steve quickly replied, nodding like a school-boy

"Rosie, wait, did he really call the vice-president 'an obnoxious little worm' ?" Nat asked

She either had to be really tensed to not notice Nat calling her by a name that was forbidden or didn't mind her using it because she just chuckled, "If it hadn't had Dorsey trying to sue our arses, I would have actually supported the whole thing." she paused "You know what?" she pulled her phone and typed something furiously.

Steve's phone buzzed. He carefully picked it from the floor and checked it. Rose had not only liked his tweet.. but had also retweeted it with a statement

> **Rose Stark | @rosestark**  
>  Couldn't have said better myself @s _teverogers_

"Why did you had to add fuel to fire, Rosie?" Tony whined "I really don't want to deal with Dorsey"

"One, it's fun." Rose counted on her fingers "Two, Steve's right. And, as one of my close friends, I'm gonna support him. Three, I'll sic our legal team on Dorsey. It's not our fault that Twitter wasn't ready for The Avengers. We told the world we'd be entering the virtual world. If anything, it's on them," she shrugged, "Four and last, it was badass." she shot a grin at Steve followed by a wink.

Tony sighed, Clint and Nat laughed and Bruce rubbed Tony's shoulder in comfort while cracking a small smile. Steve on the other hand just shook his head a little fondly while smiling.

"I swear to God, Rosie, you'll be the cause if I start sprouting out grey hairs," Tony complained

"Sorry to break it to you, but they are already there, daddy" Rose grinned, reached and plucked a greying hair from Tony's head, which made him wince.

"And they are because of you" Tony mock-frowned

Rose smiled and hugged him, "But you still love me!"

Tony chuckled, hugging her back.

"Group Hug!" Clint shouting, hugging both the Starks together. Soon other Avengers followed as well, all wearing stupid grins. Thor and Steve-being the biggest, were the outermost ones. Bruce, Nat, and Clint made the middle layer and the Starks in the middle

A snap of camera made them pause and pull out of their embrace and look at the source- where Pepper and Mia stood, Pepper with her phone.

"This is so going on the official page" Pepper grinned

"Yup, agreed" Mia nodded as she took her phone to check if she received the photo Pepper just sent, "Oh and Steve, you are grounded from social media until further notice"

"Oh, come on, Mia!"

* * *

"Don't you think you are overdoing it?" Bruce asked, looking at Nat and Clint, the two of them having a push-up competition.

"Nope" Nat grunted

"Nuh-huh" Clint slightly shook his head

Bruce rolled his eyes before looking at the phone in his hand where he was filming it. The current score was Nat-87 and Clint-82. They had about 50 seconds more before the timer would ring at its 5-minute mark.

50 seconds later,

The timer beeped and Clint collapsed on the floor while Nat tiredly sat up. The final score was Nat-100 and Clint-96

"4?! Just 4?! Fuck my life!" Clint punched the mat-floor as he scowled at his long-time partner.

"Everyone knows I'm better." Nat grinned and stood up.

Bruce stopped the video and then started a new one as Thor and Steve entered the frame, facing off each other.

"You ready for this, Thor?" Steve asked, in his complete Captain-voice.

"Better than thou, Captain"

Steve narrowed his eyes. The two took their positions and Nat reset the counters.

"Alright, boys. Start with 3...2...1, go!"

And they did. The trio expected this but they were still amazed by the stamina that both the blonde men were showing. And the speed they were doing it at, was just wow.

Within the next five minutes, the counters stopped and both the men stood up, just panting, as they faced each other.

"Wow," Bruce muttered, pausing the video. Steve-152 Thor-153.

And it appeared that Steve was not happy.

"It was a good trial, Captain" Thor chuckled

"Yeah," Seve absentmindedly replied

Let's just say that the two videos shot off like anything. Within the first 5 minutes of posting, the photos had more than 10K likes and hundreds of comments. Mostly were of the fans choosing sides. Who knew each Avengers had their own group of fans?

The four were really keen on the feedback they were getting, so no one, except Bruce, noticed Mia enter, looking very crossed.

"Mia?" Bruce softly asked

But her glare was solely focused on the four Avengers and their phones.

"If I see any of you holding your phone anytime for the next 2 hours, I'm gonna fucking break it and not even compensate."

The four were startled by the witch's sudden remark, but seeing the expression she was supporting, they kindly hid/pocketed their phones and appeared as innocent as they could.

"Weather's nice, isn't it?" Thor chuckled, nervously, but got nothing from Mia.

"Ill timing?"

"Don't try, Thor" Clint patted his knee

Mia took two long breaths, eyes closed before she looked back at them.

"Whose idea was it to post a sparring session video?" she asked pretty calmly

1...2...3...

Three fingers pointed towards Clint, who gulped.

"You do realize, that your enemies out there could use that to their advantage, right?" Mia asked

"uh..." Clint gulped "yes?"

Mia took another deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Do I really have to sensor all your social media accounts on top of your lives now?!" Mia's eyes narrowed dangerously, "First Steve tweets a major political statement. Then Rose worsens the damage. And now, you, Clint Barton, are giving an insight into your life? In case you forgot, you are a spy! Spy means anonymity!"

Clint winced very visibly.

"Sorry?"

"You better delete it, Clint" Bruce suggested

"Uh..." Clint nervously rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled as Mia rolled her eyes

"It was a live video and cannot be deleted?"

And then he was smacked by Nat, "That's just fucking awesome, Clint"

Bruce worriedly eyed Mia, who walked into the kitchen and crouching, pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels from the liquor cabinet, poured herself a glass, and drank it in one go.

"And because of those whole set of hashtags you added, Fury knows now. His PA called me and asked me to see him ASAP. ASAP!"

"He can't fire you...right?" Steve asked

Mia rolled her eyes again, "I wouldn't even care if he did. I only took this job because of Tony and Rose." she settled on a stool, "I already had a job that paid me more or less the same in the Wizarding World. So even if Fury fires me, I can always go back to my last job."

"Let's just hope he doesn't." Nat deadpanned, leaning back, "If he did fire you, let's say he'd be adding two very powerful witches and a super-genius billionaire to his list of enemies. And that won't end well for him."

"What won't end well for who?"

Everyone looked up to see Pepper stride in and enter the kitchen.

"Hey Pepper," Bruce smiled

"Hi Bruce," she smiled "Hey guys, so? What are you talking about?"

"It won't end well for Fury if he fired Mia," Nat answered

Pepper looked at Mia and raised a brow. The witch returned her a tired sigh and downed another shot of JD.

"If the way she's drinking is anything to go by, I don't even want to know," Pepper replied and grabbed a glass for herself, and poured a drink.

She brought the glass to her lips only to see five questioning glances at her.

"What?" she asked, lowering the glass.

"Why are you drinking?" Bruce asked

"Do I really need a reason?" Pepper asked, "Can't I have a drink just because I want to?"

"Pep," Mia spoke up, "How did you manage Tony and Rose's social media?"

Pepper chuckled, "Tony wrote me an algorithm to check Rose's social media updates. Rose modified it so I could check Tony's as well. It required my permission before they posted anything. I'm not sure if that old piece of programming would still be with JARVIS."

"I do still have the Social Media Monitoring program with me, Ms. Potts." JARVIS piped in

Pepper shrugged with a smile.

A chill ran down Bruce's spine at the look of the smirk that Mia suddenly wore. And he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one.

"JARVIS," Mia softly began

"Yes, Ms. Granger"

"Restart that program on the accounts of all the Avengers except the Starks. No social media content to be posted without my approval."

"Understood, Ms. Granger. Social Media Monitoring program activated."

Mia downed the rest of her drink and stood.

"If Fury did fire me, I'll hex all your arses into the next month," Mia warned and strode off

Pepper chuckled and finished her own drink, "Delightful, isn't she?" with that, she turned and headed upstairs.

"I observe a very similar behavioral pattern in both Lady Mia and lady Pepper. Is this common?" Thor furrowed his brows

"Nope," Clint popped, "Not at all"

"But then again, nothing's normal when it comes to us" Steve sighed and looked at the team.

"Well, I don't know what's worse," Nat said, leaning back and resting her knuckles against her temple "Getting my social media privileges taken by my babysitter or the possibility of my boss firing my favorite babysitter"

"She's our only babysitter," Clint grumbled

"But she's amazing at her job," Bruce added, "Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if Mia turned out to be Pepper's secret love child or something from her teen years. They are eerily similar." He paused, "Just don't tell either of them I said that"

"Secret's safe, Banner." Thor grinned, "But, yes, I do agree"

"Me too," Steve nodded "No wonder Tony and Rose listen to both the women. They are pretty scary."

"Me three." Nat sighed

"Me four," Clint piped in then stopped and his head snapped up "I just found our team mom!"

_Smack!_

"Shut up, Barton"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to ask what are your opinions on Rose's superhero codename? All the options are given in the chapter, above. My personal favorites are Morrigan and Iron Heart, but then again I want to know all your opinions
> 
> Also the Fb polls, I actually made one and these were the results I got:
> 
> IM-137 Thor-81 Capt-61 Widow-31 Hulk-24 Hawkeye-18
> 
> Review! Review! Review!


	22. Night Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cute fluffy chapter between our little genius and Golden Boy of America

Rose was having a hard time falling asleep. She had been working on a new product for the last few weeks vigorously. The board meeting, followed by testing was the next day at the office down in LA. If everything went right(fingers crossed), then this product would literally blow everything similar out of the water. All that would be left was paperwork, patents, and a Stark-Expo launch. Easy stuff.

Rose pouted and turned around, pulling the comforter up to her chin and almost snuggling into it. But still, she couldn't sleep. She tried blinking her eyes fast for a minute. She had read somewhere that doing so would tire the lids and would be easier to fall asleep. But nope. Even after minutes, she was as awake as she was before. she grunted and turned around again, closing her eyes and tried counting sheep. She reached 492, but she was still wide awake.

God! What was wrong with her?

She sat up, folded her knees, and ran a hand through her braided hair.

"What time is it?" she muttered, reaching for her phone. It was 12.38 AM.

she grunted and ran a hand over her face

"Hey J, get the coffee machine brewing please," she asked, getting off the bed

"Of course, miss"

She made her way to the kitchen on her floor, rubbing the tiredness off of her eyes. She leaned against the cabinet as the coffee brewed.

If this anxiety kept up, she'd be unable to sleep for another night. And by the smallest odds, she could mess up a lot of things. It wasn't uncommon for her to have anxiety often but she usually had the stuff to do that kept her awake. But now, everything was silent. Especially the tower. Tony and Pepper were both asleep in the penthouse above her. So were Bruce and Thor. The other three were out. Clint and Steve had been called to for a top-secret rescue op about two days ago. and the specifics weren't even told to them.

Nat had also been gone for the better part of the week for some solo rodeo.

The tower was too silent.

A beep broke the silence of the night. She looked down at the coffee machine which had brewed her blend. She poured herself a mug, added some milk and sugar and cream, and settled on top of the counter.

She was midway through her coffee when her stomach grumbled.

"Great" she muttered and jumped off the counter. She checked the cabinets and all she could find, which would be edible on its own, was an almost empty bottle of peanut butter.

"Grocery shopping" she muttered tiredly. Not because of sleep. She was just tired in general. But still, she couldn't sleep!

Keeping the bottle down, she picked her mug, refilled it, and made her way to the communal where she knew all the food would be fully stocked.

Once she entered the communal, she started rummaging through the fridge and cabinets. She pulled some bread, jelly, peanut butter, and bananas. She made herself a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sliced some bananas. Placing the things back, she placed everything on a plate and made her way to the couch.

She relaxed and started browsing through her Instagram. She checked for all the DMs she had been sent. The pictures her friends and acquaintances had posted, which she liked and/or commented on.

Her hand reached for the plate as she picked up the bananas as she scrolled down. Once she finished the bananas, her hand again reached for the plate again only to find nothing. She looked at the plate and she found it empty.

Shrugging, she sat straight

"dim lights," she said and JARVIS slightly lightened the room.

She went for the IG live, hoping people would be able to keep her occupied. Within a minute of going live, she had more than 2 thousand live audiences and comments like 'I love you', 'You look gorgeous', '' and etc started appearing

She smiled, "Hey everyone. I hope everyone's doing great...So it's almost 1 AM and I just cannot sleep. So here I am." she softly chuckled, running a hand over her face, when her eyes went onto the comments,

"What's keeping me awake?" she read and smiled a little, "Well, I'm pretty sure the advertising for the latest product is going amazingly. I am just anxious, I guess. Can I say something about the product? Oh no. I'm afraid I can't. It's the whole under the wraps legal jargon stuff. No spoilers. But what I can tell you is that I personally worked my arse off for this and I'm really hoping it'd turn out just the way I'm hoping for. Fingers crossed." she chuckled, crossing her fingers, her eyes skimming through the barrage of comments and questions,

"Well, I'm not sure when we'll do a group live session. Our timings clash a lot. Most of the time one of us is out on a mission or some personal reason. And when we are all under the same roof, most of us tend to be tired because of the said missions or busy."

"Where's everyone else? So, everyone else is asleep. Hawkeye, Widow and Capsicle are out on business"

"Actually my code name has not been decided yet. Surprisingly the media didn't already plaster one on me as they did with dad. Mia, our team manager, yes we have a team manager, also keeps on reminding me for the same." Rose thought for a second, slightly scratching the side of her nose, "Tell you what? I do have one in my mind but I've got to discuss this with the team and rest of the fam. I'll let you guys know about it sooner or later." she shrugged.

"Yes, we do have an official team logo. We have a couple of them, actually. One's on the side of the tower that is visible throughout Manhattan. The second one is this," she slightly lowered her oversized top to show her collarbone, "Cap came up with the design and on our first anniversary as a team, all of us, except Hulk, got it tattooed."

"What are my...what's it?" she pulled the phone a bit closer, "What are my powers?" she pulled back, "ugh, for certain reasons that I cannot speak publically about, I cannot reveal my powers. Let's just say I'm both the brains and the brawn of the team. Parts of both."

"I think I'll be sticking with this gradient purple to rose gold for a few more years. I have no plans of redying my hair into any other color"

"KUWTK or ANTM? I don't like reality shows. I usually don't have a lot of time on my hand for the telly. Between the office, saving the world, and making stuff for the team, I can't really spare much for the telly. Though whenever possible, I do watch Supernatural. I've seen Buffy-The vampire slayer...ugh...I've also seen, what's that show, that modern take on Sherlock Holmes?... I don't remember its name, but I've seen that."

Then she saw a weird comment

_Capt. America is behind you._

What?

She turned around and there actually was Steve, standing in the hallway. He looked at her. She looked at him.

And then she turned to the phone, "Gotta go guys. Duty calls." she smiled and ended the live session.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, closing her phone and all, and then she turned to Steve, who in the meantime had made his way to the couch.

"About 5 minutes," he answered and sat next to her

"So you heard me during the IG live."

Steve shrugged, "You know I don't get tech the way you do." he chuckled, "But yeah, I heard some of it"

"And when did you return? Where's Clint?" she leaned back and rested her elbow on the couch's backrest and her head against her fisted arm.

"About an hour or so ago. Got rid of my gear and all. Clint's at the SHIELD infirmary for checkups. He got a little more roughed up than me. And then I got hungry so I decided to come here only to find you," he smiled, relaxing as well, "what are you doing awake? It's past 1.30 AM"

she shrugged, "Couldn't sleep"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"First you tell me what are you doing awake?"

"Hey, I just got back. You think after everything I've been through for the past few days would tire me out?"

Rose just raised a brow,

"I had my share of sleep in the quintet. So I'm not feeling sleepy anymore"

Rose snorted, "You are a superhuman. Not inhuman."

"I guess"

Silence washed over them.

"I have a product launch next week," Rose started, almost draping on the couch's backrest. "I'm just very anxious."

"You've had product launches before and I've never seen you this worried."

Rose hummed, "true. But this is one of my biggest projects. I invested a lot in it."

"how much money are we talking?" he softly asked. Knowing her, it would more than a few million dollars.

"Money ain't the big part," Rose pressed her lips in a thin line, "By any chance, if I do lose something, I'll cover up in another way. Miliarty assignments, company collabs, and whatnot. Money isn't what I'm worried about." she exhaled, "I invested a lot of time. For the last few weeks, this thing has been my priority. I invested my time, hard work and so much knowledge and stuff. This could change the entire market." she looked at him a bit worried, "this could be one of my biggest products. I can't afford for it to go wrong."

Steve smiled at her, "You made it. I don't think it will go wrong"

"You don't get it." Rose straightened and pulled her knees close, looking out in front, "It's tech, Steve. Anything can go wrong. And in so many ways"

"What about the testing?"

"It's tomorrow." she replied and rested her forehead on her knees, "I just can't get this thought off my head. What if something went wrong?"

"What if everything goes right?"

Rose slightly shifted her face and looked at him with a single eye

"Look, I'll be honest, I know nothing about your level of inventing or technology, but I do know what you are going through" he turned towards her, "So why not you do something that'll help distract you."

"Pray tell like what?" her voice was slightly muffled

Steve sat there when he got the idea,

"How about you show me the modern nightlife I've heard so much about?"

"what?" she asked, giving the one-eye look

"Yeah. I heard some people talk about it at the SHIELD HQ and then Nat, Tony, Clint, and Rhodey too. I've never been out to see that. I'd like to see that"

Rose raised her head, a soft smile on her lips, "Lemme change into something"

Steve nodded as Rose jumped off the backrest and practically ran to her floor barefoot. He chuckled, got up, and picked her plate, keeping it in the sink. He himself got a glass of coffee. It must have been around 10 minutes when she returned dressed in blue jeans, a black-white checkered button-down, and white sneakers. The shirt had little smudges of what looked like grease

"It was pending for laundry." she shrugged, when he asked, trying her now loose hair into a very messy ponytail.

Steve smoothed his grey cotton t-shirt and placed his hands in his jean's pockets.

"Shall we?"

"We shall." she smiled

* * *

The first place they hit was a diner- The Waverly Diner. Rose was still pretty hungry and so was Steve.

If the night shift manager or the servers recognized them, they didn't say anything. They were served as regular people. Okay, they might have gotten a little better treatment, but it was not exclusive.

And they certainly didn't react when two of the Avengers shamelessly ordered too much food and actually managed to eat a meal that was for at least 4 people. They chatted the whole night. Steve was the one who mostly talked. He told her almost everything about his latest mission.

Rose ended up leaving quite a generous tip.

Following that, they drove to Staten Island where Rose told him about some amazing street performances. That night, it was a random comedy capering, but something they both enjoyed. They laughed so hard at times, their stomachs started hurting.

* * *

"So, how Irish are you?" Rose asked, sparing him a quick look before looking at the road

"What do you mean?" Steve asked

Rose rolled her eyes, "How Irish are you?"

Steve blinked once, "Uh...my parents were both Irish. I guess that makes full Irish too"

"Irish born in America. Cool" she chuckled, "My mum was half Irish, so I'm 1/4th Irish"

"Where did this come from?"

Rose just smiled and then pulled the car into parking. She got out, Steve followed her.

"Flagship Brewery," Steve read, "What are we doing at a brewery?"

"Getting some 'authentic' beer"

They went in and approached the desk,

"Two Metropolitan Lager please," she smiled

And soon two big mugs brimming with beer were placed on the counter.

"Thank you," she smiled and took the mugs. She took a sip from her own before handing the other one to Steve.

"I can't believe I'm getting drunk at 4.30 AM with you" he chuckled

"Which part?" she asked, "Getting _drunk_ at 4.30 AM or getting drunk _with me_ at 4.30 AM?"

Steve eyed her, "You are probably used to this, right?"

Rose scoffed, "Contrary to your and the popular belief, I'm not. I went to a boarding school, Cap. And there exists curfew. I can't do late nights or all night very often. Once in a while, sure." she shrugged, "and I'm not used to beer either. I know this place because once I turned the legal age to drink, dad brought me here for the first drink."

"And what age was that?" Steve had a deep suspicion that it was definitely not 21.

"Depends on the country" she replied, "It's legal to drink beer in the UK once you are 17. With adult supervision."

"So you had your first drink at 17?"

"Eh...in a way"

He raised a brow

"Wizarding beer is okay from 15 onwards"

"so 15?"

Rose just shrugged, but there was a mischievous smile on her face.

"Hey, wanna take a pic?" she asked

"Sure"

She pulled out her phone, switched to the front camera. Both of them smiled and raised their beer mugs as she clicked more than a couple of photos.

Rose paid for the beers and walked out.

"Where next?"

"Seen Statue of liberty?" Rose asked, getting in the car

"I grew up in Brooklyn. Of course, I have." Steve replied, closing his door

"Yeah, but have you seen Lady Liberty from the boat?"

"Boat?"

Rose grinned.

They walked out to the port. Steve chose to buy tickets while Rose picked up some snacks.

Once the ferry returned, they got their tickets checked, the stuff scanned and got in the ferry. Rose pulled him almost all the way to the top tier and got two seats on the side for view. they had to wait for 15 minutes for the ferry to fill before it pulled offshore. Rose was quick to place some privacy charms on the two of them.

Once the ferry entered the main water body, Steve was grinning. He had seen New York from the 90th floor. He had seen it from the root level. But he had never seen anything like this. The whole New York Skyline was beautiful.

And then came Lady Liberty, The lighting was still on. it was about 5 AM and still pretty dark.

This time he asked for photos and boy did they click photos. To their luck, it was one of those slots when free beer was served.

Again, not holding back, the two of them grabbed two glasses of beer each, sharing a huge grin, and just drank.

Rose was pretty sure the two of them clicked at least 100 photos in the least. But she didn't complain. She thoroughly enjoyed the whole deal.

The ferry was a 50-minute ride. And around 5.40 AM, the sun had started to rise, highlighting the sky with beautiful warm pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows.

"It's gorgeous." Rose breathed

"It is." Steve smiled, looking at the sunset. then he turned and looked at her looking at the sunrise. And at that moment, he realized it was not just some petty crush he had on Rose. It was something much more.

* * *

_Avengers Tower_

Here, everything was going on like clockwork. Bruce woke up and made downstairs to the communal, started the coffee machine, and picked the newspaper. he placed the food in the dog bowls. As soon the dogs got the smell of the food, they rushed into the kitchen and devour into it. Nat wasn't at the tower, so that left him all alone with Zeus and Hera. He was about to get his second dose of caffeine when the elevator chimed and Clint walked in.

"Morning Bruce," he muttered and pulled the stool to sit.

"Morning," Bruce replied and poured another mug for Clint.

"What woke you up?" he asked

"Huh?"

"You are not the one to wake up early and it's only..." he looked at the clock, "6.15 AM. What woke you up?"

"Yeah, I didn't really get much sleep last night"

"What's wrong?" Bruce passed him his coffee and took his seat back.

"Health screening at HQ. Rescue ops do leave more than a few scratches" Clint picked his mug and took his sip. Hera barked and tried to jump onto Clint's lap, which she managed after three tries.

"hmm"

"Where's Cap?" Clint asked, scratching Hera's chin and neck.

"I don't know. He's usually back from his jog by 6.30. Is he okay?"

"Super serum, man. His injuries heal on their own" Clint scoffed

"hmm" Bruce flipped the page on his newspaper

"JARVIS, is Cap in his room or something?"

"Captain Rogers is not in the tower, Agent Barton"

Clint's brows furrowed.

"Morning jog" Bruce reminded him

Clint shrugged

Around 7.30, Bruce started the breakfast preps. He was starving. Around that time, to add to the day's surprise, Tony walked in, looking hungover without having drunk the previous day.

"so, is that your hungover look or has it become the regular look?" Clint asked

Tony just flipped him. He petted the dogs, settled on the couch, and made his way to the island.

"Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed" Clint snorted

"Don't push it, barton" Tony grumbled, getting his coffee.

"How did you get up so soon?" Bruce looked at him a little worried

Tony ran a hand over his face, "Rosie has her product testing and presentation today. Usually she doesn't get a lot of the sleep the previous day. Fuck anxiety." he muttered, "I thought she'd be awake and here. Her room's empty"

"You mean her floor" Clint piped

Tony just rolled his eyes, "you guys wouldn't have seen her by any chance?"

"No," Bruce shook his head

Tony sighed, "J? Is she in the lab or training room?"

"Miss is not in the tower, sir"

Tony paused, "Wierd"

"What are the odds, that she's with Cap?"

Both the scientists looked at him

"Think about it. They both are not in the tower. And it's past 7, Cap's still not back. Maybe they are together"

"What exactly are you implying?" Tony asked, folding his arms on top of the island

"Nothing, dude. Just that those two are together"

Bruce and Tony exchanged a look and mutually decided that it wasn't worth it, this early in the morning, and went back to their own stuff. Which did not mean that Clint let go of the issue.

* * *

It was well past 7.30 when Rose and Steve returned to the tower.

Rose parked the car in the underground garage, they got out and entered the lift. She pressed the button to Steve's floor and then hers. They were still smiling and discussing everything and more they can do in such future night endeavors. To be honest, both of them were quite looking forward to another trip together.

They were sharing the photos when the elevator stopped at Steve's floor and the door opened.

"all the best. I know you are gonna do amazing. Just be yourself." Steve grinned, walking out backward, so he was facing her the whole time.

"Thanks, Steve" Rose grinned.

Steve gave her a nod and a smile and the doors closed. Rose chuckled to herself, shaking her head slightly before the elevator beeped and stopped at her floor. She got out and headed for her room, plugged her phone for charging, and rushed into the bathroom.

* * *

She entered the communal floor around 8 AM, dressed in a crisp simple black-grey striped pantsuit, a white bralette under the blazer, black heels clicking on the linoleum floor. She took a seat next to Clint and Bruce passed her breakfast.

"Tony asked me to let you know that he'd be coming with you," Bruce said

Rose stopped mid-bite to look at him,

"Really?" she asked, taking the bite, "Today is the last day I need a babysitter, especially Dad"

"Afraid he's gonna embarrass you?" Clint asked, looking at her

"Embarrass in front of who?" she asked

"I don't know. Your staff, board members," he shrugged

Rose snorted, "Sure. As if anything I do can top the scandals dad caused"

That made Clint laugh. Even Bruce cracked a smile

"Speaking of scandals" Clint continued, "where were you last night?"

"Since when has it been any of your concern?" Rose asked

"What has that anything to do with scandals?" Bruce asked

Clint gave a look which Rose couldn't read, before he looked at her, "We were worried about you when Tincan told us about your anxiety, and then you weren't in the tower."

Rose rolled her eyes, "I was trying to remain distracted."

"Clearly," Clint quickly added, "I saw you IG live on my way back from HQ."

"Clinton," Rose began, "Make your point"

"My question is, were you with Cap?"

Rose paused and looked at him, "Why would you ask that?"

"Just wondering"

"Drop it, Clint. It has nothing to do with you" Bruce said, taking a seat opposite to the two

"So?" Clint continued, completely ignoring Bruce

"I was with a guy, yes" she answered

"Was it Cap?"

Rose looked at him confused, "Why does it sound like you want me and Cap to be together?"

"Look, I'm just trying to make the picture here. It doesn't matter what I want."

Footsteps came from behind them.

Rose looked over her shoulder, pushing past her voluminous messy ponytail as Tony entered.

"Hey pumpkin." he kissed the top of her head, before swinging an arm around her shoulder and looking at Clint

"Wanna know what I want?"

"Pretty sure I can hazard a guess or two." Clint rolled his eyes

Bruce chuckled

"where are Capsicle and Hammer?" Tony asked

"Captain Rogers and Mr. Odinson are both asleep, sir"

Tony looked at the other three, all who shrugged. Then he looked at his daughter

"Ready for it?"

She took a deep breath, "I guess" she looked at Tony, "You don't have to come with me"

"Actually Pepper said, and I quote, 'I'd tear you into a new one if you remained absent for Rose's presentation and testing'. And I have self-preservation"

Rose narrowed her eyes at her father

"Look, kid, I know you are gonna be terrific and you are gonna set the world on fire with this project of yours."

"I hope not literally" she muttered

"I usually don't agree with Tincan, but here, I do. you are gonna do great" Clint smiled

"Break a leg" Bruce added with a smile

Rose nodded and stop up, buttoning her blazer

"Here goes nothing"

* * *

_Two days later,_

Rose got out of her car and then pulled out all the grocery bags. She hooked a bag on her elbow while held two brimming paper bags in her arms. The door opened and she entered, making her way straight to the elevator

"Communal, JARVIS" she huffed, placing the bags on the elevator floor. she pulled her phone to check the messages while replying to some.

**Georgie**

**R: that's utterly stupid of you to ask, u know**

**G: Gee thanks woman. What r u doing up at midnight?**

**R: Groceries**

**G: At midnight?**

**R: Yup. Whenever I get time. wby?**

**G: its almost 6am and last night, i couldn't sleep**

**R: nightmares?**

**G: If u really want to know**

**R: u know what i dont**

**G: Angie**

**R: I didn't need to know any of that. tmi! tmi! tmi!😣😶**

**G: 😂 😂 😂  
_Is someone else w u?**

**R: Nope, all by my osm self**

**g: Rosie...**

**R: Hey, I'm a badass superheroine. U really think I'd be scared of going out alone at night?**   
**Besides its just a grocery run. Nothing could go wrong there.**

**G: Sometimes I can't really figure out how u r so smart yet so dumb at the same time**

**R: I'm pretty sure you aren't the only one thinking that**

The elevator chimed

**R: Gotta go. Bye. Gny8.  
Gmrng***

she quickly pocketed her phone and picked up all the stuff as the doors opened. She casually strolled to the kitchen, placed everything on the counter, sighed, and worked out some knots. She started the coffee machine and got to arrange the grocery. perishables went in the fridge. Cereals, chips, biscuits, cookies, and stuff went in above cabinets. All raw ingredients in the bottom cabinets.

Once she was done, she disposed of the plastic and paper bags and decided to head to the lab to work on some stuff. she picked the headphones laying on the table, probably Clint's and connected it to her phone and put on her playlist. Only Clint had the habit of throwing his stuff around and not taking care of it. And then he'd get mad if Zeus or Hera destroyed his stuff and got all whiney.

She took the stairs, humming with White Horse. She was actually a pretty decent Swiftie. Being friends with the singer also helped somewhere.

The floor with her lab only had one more room, a gym/training room. it was mostly used by her only but wasn't restricted to her. Others just preferred to either use the common shared one or train in their own rooms.

She passed the room, but stopped and walked back. The door was slightly ajar, light was coming out. JARVIS kept the unused rooms dark, so someone had to be inside.

She walked closer to take a peak and frowned. Inside was Steve, in the ring, literally trying to beat the punching bag into a pulp. Or tear it in two.

She opened the door and entered, lowering the headphones to her neck and waited until Steve would notice her.

which he did about 10 whole minutes later.

"Hey" he panted and looked around. He grabbed his white shirt from the nearby table and quickly pulled it on top of his naked torso. Rose didn't mind it. She had seen Steve shirtless on various occasions, but if he felt like wearing a shirt around her, who was she to complain?

"So, whose face is that supposed to be?" she leaned on the ring's floor, her head between the two ropes

Steve shrugged and came to sit in front of her

"Wanna talk?" she softly asked, reaching for his hand. She could tell something was disturbing him. He looked restless. And if one of the most sorted out people in the team looked restless, something was deeply wrong.

Steve pressed his lips but didn't pull when Rose's hand intertwined his and gave it a tight squeeze. it was nice, reassuring.

"Hey" she softly said, "I can tell something's affecting you. What's it? Maybe I can help?"

Steve shook his head, "I don't think you can"

"Well, to be honest, many people thought I couldn't run a multi-billion dollar company a few years ago. here I am" she chuckled, "And we won't find out until you give me the chance"

Steve looked at her before looking down at his lap, where she had started stroking the back of his hand. And it didn't seem Rose registered what she was doing

"I had a nightmare. About Bucky"

Rose didn't react, though she really wasn't surprised.

"Whatever happened wasn't your fault" she softly said, before looking at their intertwined hand, "It was a war. and there's never a war without casualties. And not all of them can be gotten over."

Steve didn't react

"Someone once told me, things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect."

He looked at her,

"Whatever happened, it's in past now, Steve. Maybe it's about time you let the past be in the past"

"And how do I do that?"

"I have no clue," Rose replied, continuing to stroke his hand, "But if you find out, can you let me know too?"

Steve smiled softly and looked at her. and then he realized he had seen her first time since she left with Tony for her project.

"How did it all go?"

Rose shrugged, "It went as good as I hoped, if not better. We did face an issue during testing, but nothing major. Board is happy. Dad's happy. Pepper's happy. Company people are happy" she shrugged, "I'm happy"

"I told you that you'd do great"

"Now no need to give your already inflated ego a boost"

"I don't have an inflated ego"

"Hey! Trust me. I recognize an inflated ego when I see one" she chuckled.

Steve chuckled as well.

But then, silence washed over them. Neither of them pulled their hand back. Rose's finger continued their stroking.

_I am Iron Man._   
_Has he lost his mind?_   
_Can he see or is he blind?_   
_Can he walk at all_   
_Or if he moves will he fall?_

Rose quickly looked down and pulled her phone and placed it on her ear, only to realize it was still connected to the headphones. she unplugged them and put her phone back on her ear.

"I'm so very sorry. I was just about to call you," she paused and winced a little, "Really. Uh-huh...I reached about 15 minutes ago...Stopped for a grocery run, actually. JARVIS said we were running low...Actually, I was heading to the lab for a round of Mario Kart or maybe Smash bros. I might even get some League of Legends, I don't know. I'll see...Relax about that. Fortnite is just us. I know...Yeah okay. I'll talk to you in the morning...hmm. Good night. Love you. Bye" she hung up and placed her phone back in the pocket

"Pepper?" Steve asked.

"Dad" Rose replied, "He asked me to call him once I get back and I kinda forgot" she looked at him, "I don't think you are gonna sleep for a while"

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Wanna play Mario Kart?"

"What's Mario Kart?"

Rose rolled her eyes a little, "Come on big guy. Let me introduce you to one of my guilty pleasures" she pulled at their intertwined hand. Steve quickly got up, slipped between the ropes, and let Rose lead him.

They entered the lab where Rose finally let go of his hand.

"Take the seat. I'll get the stuff." she smiled and headed for the other side of her lab where huge drawers resided. She then headed for the small kitchenette, he had no idea she had one, grabbed some more stuff and then made her way back to where he stood.

The huge TV on the wall on his right lit up and pretty soon 'Mario Kart' start loading on the screen

"Thanks, J. you are the best" Rose grinned at one of the cameras

"Of course miss"

Rose just dropped all the edibles on the couch and sat down and patted the spot next to her. Steve took her invite and obliged sitting on the couch facing the TV. Between the two were all the foodstuffs.

"Here," she handed him what looked like a game controller but was quite similar to a steering wheel.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Rose smiled and went on to explain everything about Mario Kart. about 15 minutes later they started the game. It didn't seem like much when he started but soon he couldn't help but get competitive. And as he found out, when it came to video games, Rose Stark wouldn't mind obliterating her friends.

By now, which was only 30 minutes into the game, Rose was leading by a lot. But now that Steve was getting the hang of the game, he was catching up and he was catching up fast.

Rose quickly changed from relaxed sitting to almost on her knees. Her tongue was peaking out and her attention was at the screen undivided. Unlike his comparatively loud finger movements on the controller, her fingers moved swiftly and quite effectively.

a couple more minutes and

> ** _Rosie is the winner!_ **

flashed on the screen

"And that's a sixer!" Rose grinned, slumping on the couch, controller next to her.

Steve looked at her, "Is that a wizarding thing?"

"huh?" Rose looked back at him, a ghost of a grin still on her face.

"Sixer?"

Rose blinked, "Oh no. that's a cricket term"

Steve didn't really recognize that term.

"Okay," she sat straighter, "Like Americans got baseball, Brits have cricket."

"and you are a cricket fan? what does that mean?"

"duh. Sixer means six runs. It's the highes-" she paused, "You know what, maybe I'll take you to a cricket match with me. Most probably an England match" she muttered the last part, before reaching to open a packet of gummy bears. She tossed a few in her mouth before extending the packet towards Steve, who took a couple.

"So..." Steve leaned back, "rematch?"

Rose grinned at him, "Damn. I was waiting for you to ask"

* * *

As it turned out by the time 4 AM rolled, Steve, despite being almost able to give Rose a run for her money in being competitive, was still a sore loser in video games.

He wouldn't say he lost pathetically( though Rose would claim otherwise), he was just using this as a test run and learning the tricks and tips.

"Like I said earlier, a solid sixer." Rose was sill high with adrenaline

"Okay." he turned to face her, "I don't care how stupid I'm gonna sound, but what exactly do you mean by that?"

Rose looked at him, blinked twice in confusion, before pushing past a few strands of hair behind her ear

"What? You mean sixer?"

Steve just tilted his head.

"I told you. Sixer means six. You are the sixth person I've defeated, no wait, obliterated in Mario Kart."

"sixth?"

Her lips stretched into a grin again, "Okay, So first was Uncle Rhodey. Then Pepper, George, Clint, and Nat. I've been literally begging for Bruce to play with me but he keeps on refusing. And while I adore Thor, I might need to make a stronger controller, maybe out of adamantium or vibranium considering his strength."

"Pepper plays video games with you?"

"Sure she does." Rose shrugged, opening a bag of nachos.

"What about Tony?"

"As it turns out, Dad and I tie most of the time. So, we still haven't been able to establish who wins, since, somehow, our number of wins is the same?" she sneaked a quick glare towards JARVIS. She had a sneaking suspicion that her dad's lovely, loyal to the fault AI had something to do with the astronomical amount of ties they had.

"And Ron, also, somehow being totally stupid when it comes to mundane stuff, ended up winning"

"You lost to Ron?"

"Yeah," she slumped deeper into the couch, folding her arms and a cute pout on her face. Steve wasn't going to deny. She did look cute when angry. But only when she was angry about little things like losing video games. Not when she has to bail them out of jail. Then she's downright scary. Utterly terrifying. He was pretty sure even the Black Widow was scared fo the young Stark to some degree.

"And he keeps on denying me a rematch."

"Well, maybe instead of getting upset on losing one match, you should be happy that you won so many"

Rose stopped pouting and looked at him. Slowly a soft smile spread on her lips.

"Maybe that was the help you were looking for."

At Steve's confused look, she faced him

"I know it's hard. But maybe instead of getting upset about losing Bucky, you should try to make new memories with the new people you met and who care about you as their own. No one can replace Bucky and I'm pretty sure no one wants to. But you can let the past be in the past."

With that, she stood up, stretched her arms over her head. Once she worked out her knots, she looked at him,

"Well, I'm going to sleep. It's almost 4.15. Last I checked you liked going on your morning run around 5.30" she shrugged

He stood up, towering over her

"Thank you"

Rose chuckled, "Tell you what, Stevie," she smiled, "in friendship, there's no thank you and no sorry"

Something inside Steve seemed to recoil. The only person who ever called him 'Stevie' other than his mother was Bucky. His best friend. A stream of memories flowed through, reminding him of all the important moments he had with his best friend.

"Hey~"

A hand got waved in front of his face,

"Steve? Cap? Hello~? Anyone home?"

He winced when Rose knocked on his temple,

"Hey!" he chuckled and pushed her hand down.

"Oh good. You zoned out and kinda freaked me out. Don't zone out on me." she turned and picked all the wrappers, "So what were you thinking?"

"Just stuff."

He couldn't help but draw parallels between Rose and Bucky. Two people, he cared about. Two people who cared about him. His night time adventures with Bucky could easily be paralleled to those with Rose. She was just as fun-loving, easygoing, smart(okay she was much smarter than Bucky), and almost the same good company. The only difference was he had started falling for Rose in ways he had not loved Bucky.

And maybe that was a sign. Maybe instead of trying to win Rose romantically head-on, he should try to become her best friend first. To know the girl she was. And he was pretty sure that this genius girl in front of him had no shortage of best friends. So he really had to offer something her other best friends didn't.

Suddenly he got pushed as Rose walked past him, smacking his buff arm with her shoulder. And ouch. That hurt.

He rubbed the bruised area before looking at her

"What did I tell you about zoning out on me?" he looked at him over her shoulder

"Uh...don't?"

"Exactly," she dumped all the wrappers in the dustbin before facing him

"My beloved bed is missing me, so Imma head up"

"I'll come with you," he jogged to catch up with her and the two made their way out of the lab. They mostly walked in silence to the elevator, except a few loud yawns Rose let out. Honestly, Steve did kinda expect that. Who wouldn't be tired after playing video games for 4 straight hours?

The elevator beeped at his floor,

Steve took a deep breath and looked at Rose. She looked much more tired than she did in the lab, leaning against the glass panes of the elevator,

"Hey, thanks for tonight"

Rose glared at him through her sleepy eyes, extended her hand to his arm and pinched him tight.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he winced, rubbing the spot. Damn, did she have some sharp nails.

"What part of 'no thank you and sorry between friends', escapes your frozen understanding?"

He suddenly remembered what Tony had told them during their camping trip. Irritated Rose gets whiney and savage.

He raised his hands in surrender, "I take my thanks back, then"

Rose just shrugged

"think we can do it again?" he aked

she looked at him, tiredness very clearly visible in her green eyes,

"Are you that eager to get obliterated again?"

"What makes you think I will lose? What if I win?"

Rose quirked an eyebrow

"Everyone should have a vision. No matter how pathetically unrealistic that might be"

"So...?"

"You have a deal, Rogers."

Steve smiled and stepped off

"sleep well"

Rose didn't reply but Steve knew she wasn't in any condition to do so. On his way to his room, he thought of asking JARVIS if Rose had made her way to the bed, but restrained. That shouldn't be a worry since she owned a whole damn floor. With that, he closed his eyes for a quick nap, debating whether he should go for the morning run or not.

* * *

_ The following afternoon, _

"What's wrong with your neck?" Bruce asked, getting some gel-ointment to rub on the back of her neck after she complained about a lot of pain there.

"I slept funny, I guess. Maybe I slept wrong. I don't know. It hurts like a bitch"

Steve should have asked JARVIS if she made it back alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is something small I whipped up in a few days. Hope you guys like it and I hope I haven't lost my touch. Lemme know what you think.
> 
> Also, my college resumed (Hurray!; not really) and there's been a flood of tests and assignments as of late. So I might not be able to post/update for quite some time. But just remember, I haven't abandoned my fic here.
> 
> Also if you guys have some plot idea, pls pls forward them. Prompts are hard to think of when the latest thing in my mind is how to find the roots of transcendental equations by Newton Raphson formulae. I know, nerd stuff. Can be ignored. But prompts, please.
> 
> You know the drill. Read, kudos, and comments!
> 
> Ciao


	23. Two minds are better than one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury narrowed his eye, "You are one smooth bitch"
> 
> Rose shrugged, "Honestly, that's one of the nicest things you've said about me."

The nice cozy silence of the communal after 3/4th of the team, minus the Starks, had returned from a mission was broken by an anguished scream, a very loud "FUCK!" and a loud thud.

the other six, Pepper and Mia exchanged worried and confused looks.

"That was Rose?" Thor asked, slightly surprised

"sounds like her, alright" Mia muttered, getting up but paused. Others too looked at the stairs as Rose climbed them up.

Okay. Rose was not looking like Rose. Her hair was a literal mess put up in the messiest bun most of them had seen. Her glasses were dirty and did nothing to hide the huge dark circles she supported, which were prominent due to her light skin. And she looked like she was just going to commit homicide right there and then.

She walked into the kitchen, grabbed some chips and stuff from the cabinets, and picked the whole jar of coffee. Her hands looked daintier than usual and dirty with black, brown, green, even red smudges.

Mia personally hoped that the red wasn't blood.

Rose turned and walked back towards the stairs and disappeared

The whole table sat there in some stupor, which was broken by Nat

"That was our Rose?" she asked

"She looked like a fucking zombie!" Clint exclaimed

"Zombies aren't real" Bruce muttered, "But yeah, she looked pretty much like one"

"What's going on with her?" Steve asked, "Is she okay?"

"Honestly, I have no clue" Mia muttered

Their conversation was interrupted by another thud coming from their balcony. They all looked there as Tony stood up from his landing and pressed a few buttons on his forearm panel and his suit started dismantling.

"Heya people. What's for dinner?"

But no one replied

"What's wrong?" he asked, checking for dinner himself

"Is Rose alright?" Mia asked, "she hasn't exactly gotten out of her lab in the last three days."

"You don't know what's wrong with her?" Clint asked

Mia frowned at him, "I'm her best friend, not the babysitter. Besides, for the record, she hasn't spoken to me in a while properly. And we would speak if she got out of that goddamn lab!"

"she also took a week off from work, I so don't know either," Pepper added when everyone looked at her

"Another question, while we are at it," Nat asked, "Is Rose like a Vampire hybrid or something?"

"Vampires aren't real." Clint scoffed

"Actually Clint, they are," Mia replied before looking back at Tony

"Why?" he asked

"She...uh..." Nat trailed off

"didn't look like herself" Thor replied

"Or put together whatsoever. Is everything okay?" Steve added

Tony frowned, "This wasn't supposed to go this way" he muttered, "Hey J, when was the last time she had anything to eat?"

"Miss is currently having a big packet of nachos, sir"

He inhaled sharply and sat down, "She's working on her dissertation"

"What is that?" Thor asked

"Research work. Her deadline's 15th"

"That's the day after tomorrow," Bruce noted

"Is it?" Tony asked, "Well that would explain everything, I guess"

"Her dissertation for what?" Nat asked

"EXTREMIS"

"She's still working on that?" Pepper asked

"She's working on EXTREMIS?" Steve asked

"What is EXTREMIS?" Thor asked

"Long story, bud" Clint waved him off

Tony nodded, "She's developing it so it would help amputees but won't make them fireworks" he shrugged, "at least that's what she said she was trying to do."

"What's her progress?" bruce asked, sounding a bit interested

"what she said," he pointed at Mia, "I'd know if she came out of that goddamn lab and talked"

"Well, sounds like someone else we all know, who also loves being stuffed in his own lab" Nat smirked at Tony, "Why Tony?"

Pepper loudly snorted at that, others chuckled

"I like my personal space, thank you" Tony replied, "for the record, J note it down," he cleared his throat, "if I or Rose or both of us won't be 'stuffed in our labs'," he made the air quotes, "y'all won't be getting these timely upgraded weapons you are getting so comfortably served on a silver platter."

"Whoa, buddy. No need to attack us personally" Clint backed and raised his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, relax. Promise we will never again complain about you or Rose being in your labs too much." Steve added

"sounds good" Tony nodded, "And if you do, JARVIS, be a darling and play that note on loop until they shut up."

"Noted, sir"

"And as far as Rosie is concerned, give her a couple of days. She'll be back to normal."

* * *

That night, while Nat did the dishes, Bruce approached her and started getting some food in a plate.

"Still hungry?" Nat asked, placing a wet plate in the stand

"It's for Rose. I know how frustrating doing research can be. and if she's not gonna take care of herself, someone has to"

Nat smiled, "Tony already got some food for her, right after dinner. He doesn't show it at all, but he does worry a lot about her, you know."

Bruce paused, "Well, that's them. When have either of them ever shown any emotion?" he scoffed

"True that. But maybe you should get her a second serve too. She's, after all, a big eater."

Bruce snorted while Nat chuckled.

He finished putting everything on the plate, covered it with another plate, and then headed for the elevator, pressed for Rose's lab.

The moment he entered her lab, his worry slightly increased. While the lab was still clean and sophisticated, she didn't look so. the whiteboard was filled with all kinds of equations and formulae, various post-it notes stuck around, the bigger desk full of notes, papers, and whatnot.

"Hey" he called, not to startle her

Rose looked at him over her shoulder and spared a soft smile, "Hi"

"You seem...pretty neck-deep in it"

She shrugged, "it's research. It kinda does bring out the obsessive side"

"Touche" Bruce chuckled, "I got some food. Since you replaced dinner with all those unhealthy stuff"

Rose looked back at him, then at the covered plate in his hands. She exhaled, placed the stack of papers and pencil down, and turned, "I could really use some more. Thank you"

She took the plate and started eating

"No problem." Bruce smiled, shuffling her hair. Leaving her to eat, he walked to the board to check everything. The equations and formulae were spots on, far as he could read.

"What's troubling you?" he asked

"Not the theoretical part," she replied between chews, "It's always the same shit with me. The theory goes as perfect as anything. Practical goes down the gutter"

"Need a hand?"

He turned to face her

rose looked at him, blinked twice, and softly placed the plate down, "What?"

"I can help. This all, it's just biotech. That may not be my field exactly, but I can help. Two minds are better than one right?"

Rose inhaled once, "Uh..sure. Sounds great. Fuck! why didn't I think of this before? You, I mean you, before. I'm such an idiot. I sh-"

"Hey hey, Rosie. easy" Bruce chuckled, "How about you finish that and then tell me everything?"

"Yup" she replied and went back to eating.

"Didn't know you rambled" Bruce chuckled. Bruce chuckled. At the tower, they hardly saw Rose so passionately excited.

"I only ramble when under stress, actually" she replied

She quickly finished the dinner, with Bruce making sure she chewed the whole thing and didn't just swallow. Once done, she collected everything and sat opposite to Bruce, shuffling through the stack of papers

"Technically I've been working on EXTREMIS since I got out that shithole and woke up in the hospital. I thought I could take my time, and do it slowly and steadily. And I was almost there, just a few things short when I got this message from my old professor." she handed him a stack of papers, "the notes of the guy who developed Maya Hansen's formula"

Bruce took the papers, "Old professor?"

"Yeah" she nodded, adjusting her glasses, "the one who helped me with my first doctorate when I was about 20. He said that there was gonna be this panel of high-end international people, masters in their fields and if I had any research done and needed submission and publishing, this would be a great opportunity. That was a week ago. The 15th is the last day for submitting anything. And I'm on the verge of pulling my hair out"

"I can see." Bruce muttered, flipping the papers. He then turned back to the whiteboard and looked between the two of them. He studied them, and additional notes that Rose provided for about 30 minutes before he looked at her.

"Rosie, you can't publish anyone else's work."

She sighed, "Even if the work was never claimed, published, or recognized? Besides, my upgrades kinda change the whole thing?" she came and sat down too, "I'm not stealing work, Bruce. Her formula created a huge mess, made national terrorism. I'm trying to make some good out of the whole clusterfuck of a situation." she patted on the papers, "Hansen's getting her complete credit. I'm not gonna stamp my name all over it and that too to get a Ph.D. If I can kill two birds with one stone, why not?"

"Yeah, but the base formula still happens to be Hansen's. If anyone ever found out that, it would be a shit storm and trust me, you do not wanna be a part of it. Not to mention, Hansen's dead. You have no documents whatsoever stating you ever worked together, or even knew each other." he removed his glasses, "If things escalated, that's gonna be another huge issue. You are not a regular girl next door applying for Ph.D. You are Rose Stark. It can be a major PR disaster, Rosie"

Rose blinked, "Since when do you think of PR disasters?"

Bruce shrugged, "I've been hanging out with Mia quite some time. She's actually good company"

"Better than me?" Rose asked, quirking her brow, lips smirking

Bruce just returned his poker face

Rose laughed, but eventually gained her composture, but that smirk never left her face, "I hope you do know she's engaged"

"To your brother, yes, I'm aware. And I'm not even interested her in like that. She's the team manager and your best friend. Geez, Rose"

Rose just snickered

"Everything aside, I wouldn't suggest you publish this research whatsoever."

"ok?"

"Look, you are crazy intelligent." bruce smiled, holding her hands in his, "There is a sea of topics you go have your research in, make your dissertation, publish that and get your Ph.D. But this one, this is not the one you want a Ph.D. for."

"What do I do?" she asked

Bruce smiled, "Do it the smart way"

When she looked at him in confusion, he nodded, "Get in touch with Fury. We can do the work but have SHIELD scientists verify everything. Don't make that face, Rose. They work at SHIELD for some goddamn good reason and they are pretty good at whatever they do."

"And then what? Fury is difficult. This is my hard work!"

"i know. But you got a bunch of lawyers backing you. Make a contract. Whatever fits you. Put your conditions forth. we can give the samples to FDA if you wanna pass it through govt the right way."

Rose took a deep breath, stayed silent for a few minutes then looked at him, "Alright. You got more experience than me, so okay." she exhaled, "Let's go with it"

* * *

"Everything looks perfect. What's the problem?" Bruce asked, closing the papers she had written so far.

Rose sighed loudly, "I can't finish my research without a practical report. So I experimented with the new formula on a plant. it just..." she sighed, "why don't I show you"

she opened a hologram screen and put on the video.

"My formula was almost ready, like a week ago. If practicals went great, it would be ready for human trials. A week ago, I broke off a large branch of this cast iron plant and gave it EXTREMIS"

the video was time-lapse. As Bruce saw, within the next two days, not only did the original branch grow back, but the plant seemed much healthier.

"It improved its vitals. it became healthier...uh...greener, more productive. It's oxygen output increased."

"That sounds like a good side effect"

"I thought that too. Before I came to check on it this evening and saw this."

As Rose sped the video, Bruce frowned. the plant, which was apparently at it's prime, suddenly started turning yellow, then brown, started withering and...

"It died," he muttered

"This evening around dinner time, yeah. If this serum is provided to a person in his 20s, he'd be at his prime before he dies in..." she blew a raspberry, "two years. Three, tops." she tossed the papers back on the desk, "the older the person getting this, the quicker he'd wither"

"That's a terrible side effect. And no way can I finish my research like this" she added, folding her arms

Bruce sighed and turned to face her, "We can make it better. But first things first. Your priority should be making this serum usable."

"I know" she sighed,

"Good. How about you sideline everything for the near future and focus on the serum?"

"The serum" she nodded

Bruce nodded, "Now show me everything you got"

* * *

"Where's Bruce?" Nat asked when the seven gathered for breakfast

"With Rose." Tony answered, taking the syrup from Mia, "they are working together now."

"Are they?" Pepper asked, "so I'm gonna presume that now both of them would be skipping their meals and stuff?"

Looks got exchanged around the table.

"So...uh, who's gonna take responsibility for timely interrupting our two resident time bombs to make them actually eat food and come out alive?" Tony asked with a chuckle

"They aren't that bad," Thor asked, but when he got looks he softly swallowed, "are they?"

"Are you volunteering, goldilocks?" Clint asked

"If no one else is, yes" he nodded,

"Congratulations! You got the job" Tony grinned, "And your first task is getting them breakfast"

* * *

Bruce scratched his nose, looking at the calculations. They all looked right. He hadn't repeated all her calculations, but what he considered important and they were right. Up to their eight decimal places.

"Find anything?"

He tsked in response.

"Here"

"Thanks," he took the cup of tea and kept it beside the papers.

"So, it's a cul de sac?"

He looked at her. She looked tired and at her wit's end. But she did seem a little better after he insisted she properly cleans herself up for the day. Her skin had regained some of the soft warm glow and she no longer looked like a walking zombie. Her hands were clean, albeit a little dirt under her nails.

"Hand me the original notes again"

* * *

Thor entered Rose's lab around noon with two plates full of food. He looked around, spotting them both in front of a big whiteboard. Rose was writing on it while Banner was observing her.

"what if we change the carrier fluid?" Bruce asked

"I tried a variety of stuff. But the nanites of Extremis only survived in a couple. And this medium," she tapped at the board, "is the only one it flourished in. So if we wanna change it, we have to develop a new one."

"And can we?"

"If we want to, sure. I don't know how long it took Hansen to develop the original carrier. It took me a couple of weeks to improve it to not show extreme exothermic reactions if by any chance excess is taken"

"But by correcting that, it somehow lost its stability"

"Hmm-mm" she nodded, "I even thought of going back to the OG formula, but trust me, that shit can be damn fucking addictive. Not to mention can give people superhuman powers"

"And that's the last thing we want." he inhaled

"Exactly"

"Friend Banner! Rose!"

They both stopped and looked at the entrance

"Thor?" Bruce asked, removing his glasses

"What's up, bud? Something you need?" Rose asked

"Oh no, no." he laughed, "I brought breakfast. Lady Pepper made it."

"Oh, thank you" Rose smiled and took both plates from him, "Greatly appreciated"

"Is that why no one called us for breakfast?" Bruce asked

"I suppose others decided to not disturb you both. After all, this seems quite important" he motioned at the board

"Thanks, buddy" Bruce smiled

"You are welcome," he replied with a big grin. he looked around hen finally back at them

"I should leave you to it." he awkwardly said, cleared his throat, and turned to leave. He then quickly turned and looked at them with a big smile, "Kindly let me know if either of you needs anything else. I'd be more than happy to help"

"Sure we will." Rose smiled

Thor nodded and walked out

"Why does it look like Thor pulled the short straw?" Bruce asked

"Still better than Clint" Rose shrugged, sitting on the cleaner part of her desk, "Don't get me wrong. I love that guy, but he's a bit too..."

"immature, childish, laid back, improper, obnoxious, and fucking rude?"

Rose blinked, "I was gonna say flippant, but I'm sure all of that too."

Bruce chuckled and fondly shook his head, "How about we eat first and then get back to it?"

* * *

No one had seen much of Rose or Bruce in the following week, both stuck in Rose's lab. Thor actually managed to feed both the scientists three times a day without facing any issues. Guess there are perks of being the team's teddy bear?

It was soon gonna near two weeks when Rose and Bruce finally appeared on the communal for the dinner.

"Welcome to the land of the living!" Clint grinned

Rose flipped him the bird

"How did it go?" Mia asked

"So far, successful" Rose replied, "Tomorrow we are heading down to the uhh...SHIELD"

"You really are involving SHIELD in this?" Nat asked

"It's the safer option." Bruce replied, "and the one that involves less drama."

Mia shrugged, "Okay, don't be mad, but I told Fury about this whole thing"

Every head whipped towards her. Some in questions, some neutral and some having a look of disbelief.

"What?" she asked, "I'm paid to do this"

"I'm not mad." Rose replied, "Cyclops had to know sooner or later. Better be soon 'cause I'd hate to explain this whole shit to him" she looked a Mia, "Thanks, hun"

"I agree" Bruce nodded

"Thank you!" Mia exclaimed, "Now stop giving me weird looks and eat"

* * *

Rose and Bruce had quite a few errands to run the next day.

They first headed down to SI's legal department. Rose spoke to the department head, letting him know only the highlights and had him prepare an ironclad agreement. It was Fury, after all. She needed to keep all her options open and contingencies ready.

That took about 2 hours, but the result was pretty damn good.

"So, magic transport or drive?" Rose asked as the two made their way to the garage.

Bruce looked at her, "You know what, let's drive."

It took them about 4.5 hours. Rose pulled at the Triskelion parking. As Avengers, they didn't really need any solid IDs. Everyone knew them. The receptionist let them know where Fury was (floor 63rd) and the two made their there.

They entered his office and there was Fury, lounging in his seat.

"I expected you both quite sooner."

"Unlike you, we have other jobs as well." Rose smiled and the two sat down

Fury didn't respond as such, looking directly at Rose, "Let's cut the chase. You modified Killian's EXTREMIS?"

" _We_ modified Killian's EXTREMIS" Rose corrected him

"How's this any different than the original piece of shit?"

"This one doesn't give people superpowers or make them explode. It just helps in body regeneration." Bruce replied

Fury quirked his eyebrow, "sounds quite impressive." then he looked at her, "How come you still haven't launched it yet?"

"Excuse me?" Rose frowned

"let me elaborate" Fury leaned back, "How come you haven't already launched this as one of your products into the mainstream markets and capitalized it with one of those grand ass shows at your expo?"

"Because we are not fucking idiots?" Rose provided

"Every new medicine, drug or vaccine, needs to go through FDA before it gets released into the public. We know the rules." Bruce added

"Where does SHIElD come?"

"We are covering our arses. God forbid this goes south, but if it does, and that's a behemoth of an 'if', SI or me and Bruce won't be affected directly. But indirectly." Rose leaned back. She wasn't showing it, but Fury could very well see the smug feeling she had.

"And what would be my benefit?" Fury leaned forward a little

Rose smiled and pulled the contract from inside her denim jacket, tossing it on the table, gesturing Fury to read it. Fury, amused, interested, and a bit skeptical, picked the stapled set of papers, flipping them through.

"The entire credit, whatsoever, goes to me, Bruce and Maya Hansen. SHIELD can co-own the formula and present it to the government. Think of it as a collab work. We'll launch it, of course, to reach the masses better. You guys can watch over its protection, production, and supply." Rose exhaled, "So? whatcha say?"

Fury narrowed his eye, "You are one smooth bitch"

Rose shrugged, "Honestly, that's one of the nicest things you've said about me."

He snorted, "I'm not gonna sign some legal shit stack of papers, that too from you. Oh no!" he chuckled again

"Alright. Have your legal team look over it. Relax, I'm not the government or politician. I'm not gonna trap you with fancy fine print. Everything is out there in regular print."

"See, that's why I have trust issues."

"I thought you had trust issues because you lost your eye last time you trusted someone?" Rose tilted her head

Fury didn't look amused, "You are just some private corporate bigwig. You aren't as reliable"

"As what? The government? Then pray tell why health care is more private than public if private corps like mine aren't reliable?"

Fury stared at her, she stared back. Rose had no idea how long the staring contest was going on, but neither was ready to back down.

"So, do we have a deal, or what?" Bruce's voice was the ice breaker, both simultaneously looking at Bruce.

"Not until I get this," he waved the contract, "through the finest microscope I have."

"Sounds good enough to me." Rose shrugged

"Me too." Bruce nodded

"And I'd also need the research report."

Rose narrowed her green eyes, "Tell ya what? You get that to your finest microscope. We get the report to your scientists. Divided work, easier work" Rose smiled, "Don't be a prick. Just making things easier for all of us, here, mate"

Fury stood up, straightening his leather coat, "We are not mates," with that he walked out of his office.

"Well, that's rude of him." she muttered and looked and Bruce, "He didn't even tell us where the R&D hub is." she looked at Bruce ( you wouldn't know that, would you?"

"Maybe next time, you shouldn't antagonize him so much," Bruce said, as they both stood up, "and no. I worked separately and minded my own business."

Rose shrugged, pulling out her phone, "You don't know this, Bruce, but this is how we roll"

"Care to explain?" Bruce asked,

Rose sighed as the two entered the elevator. She pressed a random floor button, "This convo never happened" she muttered, "I've known Fury pretty much all my life. He's kinda like a grandfather figure to me, I guess." she shrugged, placing the phone to her ear, "or that alcoholic uncle that just shows once in a while and teaches you how to find loopholes in the government systems."

Bruce blinked, trying to absorb what Rose just said.

"What?" he blurted

Rose looked at him sideways, "Hey Clint. On which floor would we find the nest of scientists?...yeah," she paused, biting her lips, "great, thanks Legolas" with that she pulled her phone back and pocketed it, pressing floor 35.

She smiled, "Peggy Carter, was kinda like my adoptive grandma and would babysit me a lot. she was one of the founders of SHIELD. Well, she trained Nick. And many times she couldn't go on official SHIELD work, so Nick would come over when she was babysitting me. He, in fact, babysat me a couple of times." she chuckled

"I have this weird image in my head now. I'm pretty I can never unsee it"

Rose laughed.

"Fury never seemed like a babysitting type to me."

"To anyone." she smiled, "I never held it out for him. Fury's a great man. He might be all ice and frigid on the outside but there were moments where he'd be the world's biggest teddy bear." she looked at Bruce, "And I've had quite a several occasions of witnessing such a heavenly transition."

Bruce snorted, "Never thought I'd hear 'teddy bear' ever associated with Fury"

"Well, for running, technically, the world's biggest phantom security agency, you gotta cut some things back."

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

The elevator passed floor 50 when Bruce looked at her

"you shared something. I think I should spill something too."

"Oh please," Rose grinned, leaning against the lift's side panel, "spill the tea!"

Bruce looked at her, "I've met you. When you were a baby"

Rose's expression's changed, "No way!"

Bruce laughed, "Yeah. I knew your dad from when we both attended a conference. I think I was in my mid-teens or something about that age. It was a...uh..." he trailed off, remembering, " 'Forward Thought Conference', I think, at Oxford. Kinda became rivals, then friends. After that, he went to MIT and I went to Caltech." he smiled fondly and scratched his cheek,

"I met him again in...'93. It was another conference in LA and my hotel reservations got canceled last moment. Tony offered me the place for the night. He was pretty insistent saying that he wouldn't let an old friend stay ins some ridiculous 3-star hotel." he laughed again,

"That's when I met you. You were such a cute, bubbly, and innocent thing back then."

"Excuse me? I'm still cute, bubbly, and innocent."

Bruce just raised a brow, amusement written all over his face.

"I stand by what I said" she snorted

"Anyway," bruce smiled, "You were so shy. Wouldn't let go of Tony at all. And I swear, that night when I saw Tony, he seemed a whole different man than the one I was used to."

Rose smiled at that. A lot of people had the same reaction when they the Tony in 'Dad' mode.

"It took me about 4 hours and some lack of sleep for you to get used to me."

"I don't really remember any of that, sorry."

"It's alright. It's natural. Tony made me swear on my PhDs that I wouldn't mutter a word about your existence to anyone ever." he chuckled

"Thank you for keeping that promise" she smiled

Bruce shrugged, "I wasn't a parent or anything, but I could tell that you meant a lot to Tony. You still do"

"I know" she smiled, running a hand through her ombre lochs when a weird look crossed her face, "Well I guess that should explain the excitement when Dad saw your name in that packet. and that bridge interaction." she chuckled

Bruce chuckled, "Imagine my excitement when I saw you, about 18 years later, running the world's biggest tech company, saving the world with Tony and being mature and all grown up." he looked in front, "I'm surprised Tony never told you."

Rose just smiled, "It's dad"

they both chuckled, as the elevator chimed at the 35th floor and the doors opened. They both stepped out and started walking out before realizing they had no idea where to go and were stranded in the lobby.

"Shoulda asked clint for more"

"yup" she muttered

"Dr. Banner? Dr. stark?"

Both of them turned towards the source. She was a young, quite beautiful brunette. Her hair was in half ponytail and she wore a white scientist coat over her clothes.

"Yes?" Bruce asked

"Hi." she smiled, "I'm Dr. Jemma Simmons. Director Fury asked me to lead you both to the R&D and review your research."

"Great" banner nodded, "Lead the way"

"Oh, and by the way, it's Ms. Stark. Not Dr. Stark"

Jemma stopped and looked at her, face flushed, and embarrassed, "I'm so sorry. It was wrong of me to assume that. I thought you had Ph.D. I must have mistaken you and your father's information. I'm really sorry."

Rose shared a look with Bruce, "Actually, love, I do have a Ph.D. I just prefer not to be called Dr. It makes me feel older"

If possible, Jemma's face flushed more. She just nodded, turned, and started walking.

Bruce exhaled and chuckled, "You feel older when someone calls you Dr.?"

"Shut up"

* * *

The R&D department of SHIELD was pretty amazing.

"This should explain why you prefer working here than at the tower." she muttered and looked at Bruce with a teasing smirk, "Right Bruce?"

Bruce just narrowed his eyes at her but didn't reply, other than a roll of his eyes.

"Leo!, hey Leo!" Jemma called over someone. Another guy around the same age as Jemma walked over

"This is Leo Fitz." Jemma introduced, "Leo, Dr. Banner, and Ms. Stark"

"A pleasure to meet you both." he smiled, extending his hand.

"Same." Bruce smiled as they both shook his hands.

"Director Fury said you both engineered a formula that can help in body regeneration," Leo said, gesturing them to a work station.

"Yeah, that would be true," Rose smiled and pulled out the research report. Both Jemma and Leo instantly got into it, reading everything.

Rose and Bruce waited while the duo, who seemed a bit more than just colleagues or friends by the way they were interacting, read almost every fucking line.

Rose rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, opening the gaming app.

"Really?"

She spared a look at Bruce.

"What? They are immersed in our work And I'm bored."

Bruce just sighed and folded his arms. It took the duo about 30 minutes before they were done.

"Uh, can we ask something?" Leo asked

"Somethings, actually. Plural" Jemma added

"Sure, go ahead" Bruce nodded. Rose pocketed her phone, running her hands over her face, nodding as well.

"Recoding DNA, is this tested?" Leo asked

Rose nodded, flipping the report to a particular moving quickly almost on the edge of her seat, "We couldn't do human trials, as such. But we tested it on a variety of plants. Even a couple of trees. And they all show promising results."

"We assure you, everything in that report is thoroughly tested and trialed" Bruce added

"Wow." Jemma breathed, "This research is groundbreaking. But um...if this, any of this, fell in wrong hands, I believe it can be weaponized?" she looked at Rose, who pressed her lips in a thin line,

"What if someone manages to recode it?" Leo added

"Well," Bruce started, sparing a quick glance at Rose, "We added a fail-safe for that." he reached and opened another certain page, pointing at a paragraph, "If anyone tries to recode the nanites even by the smallest comma, they will self destruct. They have kind of a hive-mindset. If one nanite is destroyed, it creates a discharge in the carrier fluid, which causes other nanites to self destruct as well. But if only the code has changed. If one nanite gets destroyed of natural causes, others would be fine."

"That was kind of smart to add," Leo muttered, eyes back in the report.

"I'd been in the weapon's industry for quite some time." Rose smiled

"Do you have a sample?" Jemma asked

Rose nodded, producing a test tube full of their serum, which she handed over to Jemma

"We just have one vial. If you need more, we can get it"

"Oh no." Jemma quickly replied, "this would be enough." she turned and walked away

Leo looked at them, a little shy, "This might take some time."

"Can we wait in the cafeteria?" Rose asked, "This place does have a cafeteria, right?"

"Yeah." Leo answered, "Floor 20."

Rose nodded, "Thanks" she turned to leave with Bruce, but stopped and turned back to face Leo, "Sorry," she muttered and pulled out her phone, "Can you give me your number? I can call you in, like 30 minutes, or so to ask if your inspection ended?"

"There won't be a need." Leo smiled, albeit blushing a little, "Jemma and I have our lunch break soon. We'll find you in the cafeteria"

"Oh." Rose muttered, "Then, we look forward to seeing you then." she smiled and made her way to Bruce, who was waiting outside.

"You do remember I've worked here a couple of times right?" Bruce chuckled

"To be honest, I pretend to not have that particular knowledge, Brucie"

Bruce just chuckled with a fond smile.

The two made their way to the cafeteria. the first thing Rose noted was,

"The tower's cafeteria is so much better." she wrinkled her nose

"Could you not?" Bruce asked, "For an hour, at least."

"Could I not what?" she looked at him, a face so innocent, if Bruce didn't know better, he would have accepted that sincerely.

"Try to belittle SHIELD"

"I'm not doing that." She narrowed her eyes like a little girl who refuses to steal cookies when caught red-handed.

"Whatever you say, Rosie." Bruce grumbled, "Come on. I'm hungry. And considering your appetite, I'll say you are starving."

"yup. true. so true" Rose muttered

While Bruce only ordered a grilled sandwich and coffee, Rose ordered a double cheese sandwich, chicken nuggets, a mini pizza, a couple of tacos, and a 250ml bottle of sprite.

"Be honest," Bruce asked, mid-bite, "how come you eat as much as Steve or Thor and don't gain half a pound of weight?"

Rose looked at him through her lashes, mid biting a chicken nugget, and raised a brow.

Bruce tilted his head

She pushed the entire nugget into her mouth and started chewing, having Bruce to wait until she finished.

"What makes you think I'm any less than either of the blondes?" she asked

"Because neither are you a god nor do you have the super-soldier serum in you."

"You don't know that for sure."

"If you had, you would have talked about it. About 50 times, already"

Rose looked at him, "yeah, I would have." she nodded, taking a bite off her pizza, "I stress workout"

"Is that even a thing?"

Rose looked at him, licking the salsa sauce from her fingers, "Where did this question even come from?"

Bruce reached to take a slice of her pizza, something Rose didn't protest

"the other day after you had your goliath of a meal, Nat commented how much she envies you because you can eat whatever you want and still be able to maintain the 'perfect figure'," he marked the air quotes, "while she has to watch what she eats. Or have an extra workout. SHIELD rules, apparently"

"That's ridiculous." Rose muttered, "That shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, her serum is different than Steve's. And allegedly, her food intake can affect her physique"

"That's not what I meant." she replied, putting down her sprite bottle and capping it, before passing it to Bruce, "No girl should restrict her food intake because her physique might get affected. That entire notion is ridiculous. And something I've always hated."

"Says the one who stress-workouts"

Rose shrugged, "People stress eat, stress walk, I stress-workout. Besides, imagining some particular's face while punching the sandbag into a pulp is quite satisfying, you know." she nodded, crushing the taco paper plate into a ball,

"I've got a higher metabolism than regular people. Blame my magic. It takes a lot more out of me than I show. So I have to eat more to compensate. Trust me, on regular lunch, I eat more than this." she chuckled with a smile, "And last time I gained around 10 pounds, a couple of magazines printed entire articles on how I was pregnant since I had gained weight visibly. 10 pounds, damnit! 10 pounds! That wasn't an actual breathing baby I had. That was a fucking food baby!" she raised her pizza slice, pointing at bruce, "Mind you, I lost those bloody 10 pounds in two weeks. And my PR team had to deny every allegation that I was fucking pregnant." she scoffed, putting that pizza slice in her mouth.

"Well, guess that's the sad reality of celeb life." Bruce nodded

"Sad reality and a curse. Especially for girls. Gain a few pounds, she's pregnant. Hang out with your brother who is unknown to the world and isn't common knowledge, she's got a new fling. Have a little bruise due to training or working in the lab, she's in an abusive relationship. Buy a piece of jewelry, she's in a committed relationship. Seen eating and drinking, she had a breakup. Breathe, she's alive. I mean, come on! give me a fuking break!"

Bruce was torn between chuckling due to her rant and empathizing with her situation. He doesn't know much about the social life of celebrities, but from what he could gather from the rant just now, it wasn't all gold and sparkles.

Before he could say something,

"Stark, Banner!"

Bruce looked over his shoulder as Fury strode in, hands behind his back. But he wasn't alone. With him was someone he never thought he'd see again anytime soon.

Fury and his companion stopped just next to their table.

"Is everything okay?" Bruce asked, shifting his gaze from Fury's companion to Fury himself.

Fury just looked at him and raised his brow.

"Sorry about that." Rose muttered, her eyes sparkled for a second, "Privacy spell" she whispered to Bruce

"Right" Bruce exhaled before looking at Fury, again, asking the same.

Fury looked at them both.

"I'm quite surprised that the contract was clean and to the point." he looked at Rose, "Surprised, but expected nothing less"

Rose looked at Fury extremely smug,

"Once my R&D division clears out the formula, you'll receive the signed copy of the contract and we'll get in touch with the government for the follow-up protocols of releasing it in public."

"Aye aye, pirate" Rose snarked, almost laughing

Fury nodded at them both before turning and leaving

Rose grinned, "He actually agreed to sign them." she chuckled, "Bruc-" she stopped when she found Bruce smiling at Fury's friend, who apparently stayed behind.

She looked between the two,

"Uh...Bruce? Is everything alright?"

Bruce looked at her with the same smile,

"Rosie lemme introduce you to Jennifer Walters."

* * *

Rose and Jennifer had a brief introduction and the moment she realized who she actually was, the first thing she said was,

"You know, we always need super competent lawyers at Stark Industries. So...?" she smiled

Jennifer chuckled, from sitting next to Bruce, "The offer's quite tempting, Ms. Stark" she smiled, tucking strands of brown hair that escaped her ponytail, "But I'm quite attached to my job here"

Rose shrugged, "I'm not the one to pressurize, but if you ever feel like you wanna change the environment and surrounding, well, ring me up"

"Sure" Jennifer smiled

"But how did you end up working for SHIELD?" Bruce asked

"To be honest, I didn't even know about this place. About a year and a half ago, I got this mysterious offering letter to a job position I never applied for. I followed up on the internet and the company seemed very legit. So, I decided to accept it and show up for the interview. I was just starting out, back then, you know. I wasn't really optimistic that they'd hire me. They had these insane wage rates, annual profits, and perks.

"2 days after the interview I got the job. Started the following week. A week later, I was briefed on everything. They said they saw potential in me and that's why they wanted to hire me to be on SHIELD's legal team."

"But that wasn't the entire truth, was it?" Rose asked. Unsurprisingly, they all knew the answer

Jennifer sighed, "It wasn't until I saw that Manhattan alien invasion from here and saw you..." she looked at Bruce and exhaled

"I'm sorry about that." Bruce lowered his head

"Is that why I didn't from you for about 6 years?"

"I was going through a rough phase"

"Clearly" Jennifer scoffed, "But you could have called me, you know. Gamma radiation monster or not, I wouldn't have turned you away. You are my cousin, one of my closest friends. I would have helped you in any way I can"

Bruce frowned, "Trust me, Jen, no one could have helped me. No one can still help me."

Jennifer sighed, "You were never the optimistic type." then she looked at him again with a quite fond smile, "But I'm glad you are okay. How is it at the Avengers tower? I've heard a few stories, but even I know not to believe everything I hear."

"It's great." bruce smiled, "Over the months, we kinds became like a family. We care for each other."

"so basically you got company you can geek talk with?" Jennifer chuckled

Bruce barked a laugh, "to put it in a simple way" he chuckled, "Rosie here-" he stopped when he realized that she was looking at them both with wide eyes, surprise written all over her face

"Rosie?" he asked, waving his hand in front of her face

Rose's emerald green eyes followed his hand, "I've never seen you like this before" she smiled, 'I'm just a little...surprised." she chuckled before looking at Jennifer, "Maybe you should stop by the tower sometime. Others would love to meet you." she grinned. She pulled her phone and checked it, "You two keep up the cousin reunion," she got up, getting out of her seat, "I'll check in with Leo and Jemma"

"Is this about that formula of yours?" Jennifer asked

"Precisely, Ms. Walters" Rose grinned

"Jennifer is fine"

Rose grinned, "Then you must call me Rose too. Ms. Stark is too formal for the cousin of my pseudo-uncle. Oh and please take my number from bruce. I'd love to talk to you more in the future. " she looked at Bruce, "I like her," she whispered with a grin and walked out

Bruce chuckled, already pulling his phone out. he himself didn't have Jennifer's number and he also had no intention of losing this newfound contact he had with his cousin.

"Whatever did she mean by pseudo-uncle?" Jennifer raised a brow

* * *

Rose sauntered into the R&D lab, eyes darting and looking for the two scientists, whom she eventually found, stuffed over at the corner.

"Jemma. Leo" she softly called, making her way to them

The two looked up and at her,

"Ms. Stark, hi" Leo smiled

"Rose, please" she smiled back, "both of you" she intertwined her hands behind her back and rocked on her tiptoes, "I'm extremely sorry for being here so soon."

"We were actually almost done." Jemma smiled

"So, what's the verdict?"

"All the preliminary tests match with your report." Leo said

"I sense a but"

Leo and Jemma exchanged a look, "We still need to do some in-depth tests to make sure everything is fine"

She nodded, "anyway I can help?"

The two exchanged another look.

"Director Fury mentioned that you had the original EXTREMIS formula in you. What can you tell us about that?" Jemma asked

"To be honest, it worked differently for me compared to his other test subjects. The majority of them got superpowers," she paused as the two nodded, "some exploded and so on. My...uh...powers, at first, rejected the formula. I heaved it all out. It looked like molten lava and it was gross." she slightly shuddered at the memory

"What did they change?" Jemma asked, noting it down before she realized something and looked at her, "I'm sorry if this brings back unpleasant memor-"

"It's alright. Nothing I can't get over." she smiled, "they made a specific formula with my blood as one of the raw compounds. The new formula, EXTREMIS 2.0, somehow got accepted by my body."

"How does this formula differ from the original?" Leo asked

"It isn't programmed to a person's blood or DNA. it's extremely generic. I hypothesize that it should work just as fine for a regular human or a mutant." she bit her lip, "but that's just a hypothesis. I cannot test this formula on a human or a mutant."

The two nodded

"How long will the confirmatory tests take?" Rose asked. Patience, especially regarding science, was never a virtue she withheld.

"We..." Leo began and shared another look with Jemma, "We can't be sure."

"It's okay." Rose smiled, "Just lemme know when they are done?"

"Of course" Jemma replied

"Um...I should get going then. But I hope to listen from you both as soon as you both are convenient." Rose smiled

The two replied with a nod and a smile. Rose turned and walked out, pulling her phone. The clock showed 5.34 PM. Well, things took longer than the duo had anticipated. Snorting to herself, she could call Bruce,

_"Yeah?"_

"It'll take time. You wanna stick around with Jennifer? I won't mind waiting."

_"Jen left to get back to work."_

"Oh. Meet me at the parking?"

_"okay"_

she hung up, putting the phone back in her jeans pocket, making her way to the parking.

* * *

When Rose made it to the parking, Bruce was already there, talking to his phone. She remotely unlocked her car, which grabbed her Bruce's attention, who quickly finished talking in his phone and hung up. She just raised a brow, getting in with Bruce

"They ditched us," Bruce said, as she pulled from the Triskelion

"Who?"

"The team. Steve got tired to cook and decided to order in. From Golden Diner"

Rose whined. Golden Diner was one of her favorites, as well as the team's.

"Don't tell me they got Korean Fried chicken wings."

"Knowing them, some of them definitely would have" Bruce chuckled

"Traitors," she grumbled

"So how about we ditch them and grab something for ourselves?"

"Motorino?" she asked

"Let me take to you one of my favorite places in NYC"

* * *

Bruce guided her to Harlem and then further midtown

"Next right. Yup" Bruce said and Rose followed

"There. On the corner."

The restaurant was a simple one named Red Rooster Harlem. Rose found parking a block away, but nothing either of them worried much about.

Much like Motorino, Red Rooster was a simple middle-class restaurant. They got seated, placed their orders, and waited.

The whole time the duo just kept talking about things they could improve in their new formula, stories from Tony and Bruce's childhood, upcoming projects they might work together on, and such.

By the time they left the restaurant, it was about 10 PM

"Tell you what. I'mma go home and hit the hay." Rose said

"I'll second that."

* * *

It took a whole week to hear anything at all from SHIELD. And it was in the form of a mail. Steve, who had grabbed the mails that morning from the reception after his run, distributed them during breakfast.

"Rose," he said handing her the mail addressed to her and Bruce. , "It's from SHIELD"

She quickly took the package and tore it open. Inside were the contract papers.

"Didn't know SHIELD did mail," Steve muttered

"They don't, usually" Mia replied, "Fury did it to irk her," she chuckled, "That way the 'reply' got delayed by a day or two."

While some chuckled, Bruce and Rose weren't among them. The two had their eyes focused entirely on the contract papers.

"Come on, guys. Don't keep us in the dark" Nat said

"He signed them." she chuckled, a huge grin on her face, raising her head to look at them all, "He signed the contract"

"So your formula's getting released?" Clint asked

"No. it has to go through the proper government channels. But hey, this is great news for a start." Bruce smiled

"This calls for a celebration." Thor declared

"Yeah, it does."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll say it- I have no clue how Ph.D. work or the US govt system is. If there's any error, don't hesitate to correct me so I can make the required corrections without offending anyone.
> 
> Now, onto the bigger topic. My college has decided to hold semester finals, despite the pandemic, so I'm gonna be so busy for about another 1.5 months. You guys have been so nice to be with me for so long, please bear with me the next 1.5 months as well.
> 
> I trust you guys to make some heads and tails from this chapter and not review your questions or leave negative criticism or jabs. Those can be PMed to me, pls.
> 
> Also, I've made a digital illustration for Rose. It's uploaded as another story. So, do check them out. 
> 
> Other than that, you know the regular drill- Kudos, Subscribe, and Comment.
> 
> Ciao


	24. Rose Potter- My illustration

I drew this piece months ago and almost forgot about it. This is what I imagined Rose Potter as when I started writing Consequences. If anyone interested, I can make a few more illustrations once my exams are finished. Thought, I can guarantee I have improved a lot. 

Do lemme know what you think?


	25. Interference at 95

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maybe Rose can distract him the whole day?" Clint suggested
> 
> "And how do you think I'm supposed to do it?" Rose looked at the archer
> 
> "I don't know" Clint shrugged, "Lock him in your lab and grill him with your nerd talk? Give him sleep potions?" he gestured towards Bruce at that, "Take him to movies? A romantic Cruise? A strip club? I don't know"

Bruce pressed his lips as he pulled the gauze bandage tighter,

"Tight enough?"

Natasha nodded curtly. Bruce tore off the excess gauze, tied it around Nat's arm, sitting on the bed, and finished the dressing with some tape. Once he was done, Nat pulled down her tank top and sighed

"Next time, try to be more careful," Bruce said, cleaning the table of unrequired things

"Oh please, Bruce. It was just a graze. Nothing big."

Bruce paused and narrowed his eyes at her, "I just pulled out a freaking 9mm from your stomach. Nothing big? You should be thankful the bullet didn't hit anything vital."

"I'm fine." Nat rolled her eyes, "And you worry too much"

"Well someone has to"

"Bruce, it's not the fir-" Nat was cut off by knocking on the door.

Bruce and Nat looked at the door where Steve stood.

"Hey Steve" Bruce smiled, "Come on in"

"Hey." Steve slightly pulled back his shoulders, "How's she doing?"

"I wouldn't bite if you asked me, you know" Nat piped in

"No, but you tend to downplay"

"As if you don't" Nat muttered. Steve just looked at her and then back at Bruce, "So?"

"I've pulled the bullet and dressed the wound. Provided she takes enough rest before her next solo, she should be good as new."

"Or maybe I can ask Rose for some healing potions and be good as new by tonight. Easier, less muss less fuss."

Steve raised a brow, "You sure they won't do more harm than good?"

Nat thought for a few seconds. "No clue" she shrugged, swinging her legs.

Steve sighed, "Talk to Rose before you decide to gulp anything you have no idea about. The last thing we need is you to be sick. "

"Sure, Dad"

Steve just shot Nat a glare, that contained more amusement than an irritation.

"Tony said he'll cover your day today"

"Oh good. So we are having takeouts" Nat deadpanned

"Would you rather he cook?" Bruce chuckled

"If he will make that tomato rice soup, I won't complain" Nat smiled, "that was some of the damn good soup I've ever had."

"I'll let him know" Steve nodded, "anything else?"

"Other than that, she's almost fine. lemme fix a few more things and then we'll come up"

Steve nodded and left. Once Nat was sure Steve was out of earshot, she turned to Bruce

"We still are going to do what was planned, right?"

Bruce nodded, putting some ointment on a cotton ball and bringing it to rub on a nasty cut on Nat's cheek.

"So far, yes. Once he goes to his SHIELD meeting, we'd meet up at the Communal"

"Great."

* * *

The next couple of hours went fine. Tony actually did cook Tomato Rice soup and then some takeouts for lunch. Clint volunteered to cleanup with Thor and once the two were done, they sat down Steve had left quickly after the lunch for his bi-monthly meeting with Fury. Every two moth, the two men would talk about things regarding SHIELD and god knows what stuff.

Once JARVIS alerted them that Steve had left, Bruce switched off the TV and everyone huddled together

"So, what's the plan?" Tony asked

"A surprise birthday party" Nat replied in quiet a 'duh' tone

"I got that, Red, but what do want to do for his party? I reckon he won't exactly like stripers and a DJ."

"We are not going to have stripers, Tony," Bruce sternly said

Tony spread his arm as if to prove his point, "So what is the plan?"

"The regular. Birthday cake and a simple sober party" Mia said, "Which means Rose-baked cake and rest of us get him his presents and get the hall ready for the party"

"Are we gonna be following the red-blue-white theme?" Rose asked

"Yeah. Why?" Clint asked

"Nope. Nothing as such" she shook her head, "Just getting an idea for what colour scheme I should be following for his cake"

Tony shot her an amused look, for which she returned a glare. Something no one else noticed.

"I have a query" Thor spoke up

"what's it, thunderbird?" Tony asked

"How are going to keep the Captain distracted?"

Okay, they hadn't really had time to think of that.

"Uh...anything, anyone?" Bruce asked

"We can send him on a faux SHIELD mission" Nat suggested

"A goose-chase? really?" Tony asked, "He's gone to see Cyclops. Widow, you are losing your touch"

"He's smart. If we give him a faux case, he'll figure it out sooner than you think" Mia added

"Can't you knock him out for a whole day?" Bruce looked at Rose

Everyone else looked at Bruce, who was supposed to be the most logical person on the team. No one expected to hear anything that absurd from him, of all people.

"Is Banner alright?" Thor asked

Nat reached over and knocked on his temple

"Who are you and what have you done to the real Bruce Banner?" she asked

Bruce swatted her hand away and frowned at her, "Steve is not Tony. Rose managed to send him to LA. We can't do that to Steve without raising suspicions. I suggested what sounded good enough to me." he crossed his arms, "On second thought, the idea sounded way better in my head."

"Maybe Rose can distract him the whole day?" Clint suggested

"And how do you think I'm supposed to do it?" Rose looked at the archer

"I don't know" Clint shrugged, "Lock him in your lab and grill him with your nerd talk? Give him sleep potions?" he gestured towards Bruce at that, "Take him to movies? A romantic Cruise? A strip club? I don't know"

"Strip Club would be an interesting one, though" Tony muttered to Rose

"I'd wager" she muttered back

"what's with you people's obsessions with knocking Steve out cold?" Mia raised a brow

"Less hassle?" Clint shrugged

"And pray to tell who is going to bake the cake if it's my job to distract him the whole day?" Rose raised a brow

Clint looked around, realizing he hadn't thought his idea through

"Mia?"

"Uh...No" Mia shook her head, "Unless you want the kitchen on fire and partially destroyed, no"

"Anyone else here knows how to bake a cake?"

No affirmative response.

"Seriously how hard can it be?" he asked

"Have you ever tried baking a cake, Barton?" Thor asked. Initially, the question sounded rhetorical, but they all knew that Thor was genuinely curious. He was still getting used to various Earthly customs, after all.

Clint looked at Thor for a few seconds, then back at the rest of the team, "I take back my question"

"And so, we are back to square one" Tony sighed

"Okay," Nat spoke up and looked at Rose "How about you bake the cake before Steve returns today, keep it in the fridge. It's Clint's turn to cook tomorrow, so he can make sure Steve doesn't find out about the cake. and you can keep him occupied the whole day."

"There are so many things weird about it. Why do you want me to be the one to take him out the whole day?" she asked

"Because he's your best friend?" Clint provided

Rose narrowed her eyes, "Steve's a good friend. Not my best friend."

"Besides, you two are the youngest people in the team"

"You do grasp that this is supposed to be Capsicle's 95th birthday, right?" Tony asked

"Practically, yes. Technically, he's turning what? 28? You are 22."

Rose inhaled sharply

"Besides, you did seem to quite enjoy that night out you and Steve had a while ago. Just do the same thing"

Rose closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and inhaled sharply again.

"Fine!"

* * *

Once everything was settled, Rose quickly began to bake the cake. After 15 minutes, she kept the cake mixture in the oven, set the timer and temperature, and sat down, leaning back on the couch, eyes closed.

Others were discussing the party settings. They wanted to keep it low profile. Hence Clint's ideas of fireworks were quickly shot down.

"Hey,"

Rose opened her eyes and looked at Nat, giving her a small smile, "Hey"

"Are you okay with the plan? With Steve?" she asked, swinging an arm around Rose's shoulders.

"Didn't we already decide that?"

"We did. But later, when I thought about it, you seemed a little reluctant on spending the whole day with Steve. If you aren't comfortable, I can go with him. Wouldn't change a lot of things."

"It isn't that I don't like Steve or anything. He's a nice guy. But, to be honest, I have no clue what I would with him the whole fucking day" she sighed, running one hand over her face and then resting it on her temple.

"If it was anyone else, I'd have managed. You, we could go and spend a whole girls' day out. Bruce and I could work on so many things we discussed. I'd take Clint to a shooting range or laser tag. Or maybe help him train his wee magic source. I'd take Thor for a tour of the magical world and since he's a god from Norse Mythology and Loki's brother, no one will utter a word against." she sighed and took another gulp of coffee, "with Steve, I have no fucking clue"

"On that note, I demand you take me to laser tagging on my birthday" Clint spoke up

"also on that note, I ask you to buy me Apollo Blue earrings for my birthday"

that got a laugh out of Nat and a chortle from Tony and Mia

"Uh...how expensive are they?"

"Last I checked, $42 mil" Rose quirked a brow

"Uh...train my magic?"

Rose put on her poker face, "wait for your birthday"

"Take him to an old fashioned dive-bar" Tony suggested, "Strip club ain't a that bad choice though"

"If you wanna corrupt him" Mia snorted

"Perhaps you can accompany the young captain for a glorious training battle"

"Explain that," Rose asked

"Maybe accompany him to slay a dragon or a similar beast. Take him on an unsolved quest."

"that is going way too far, Thor" Rose politely said

"no offense, thunderbird, but I'd rather take upon Bruce's idea of knocking Steve out cold for the day rather than take him to slay a dragon" Tony added, "The last thing we want is PETA up are asses"

"Hey" Bruce complained, frowning at Tony

"Your words, not mine, bud" Tony shrugged

Bruce rolled his eyes before looking at Rose, "Take him to Disneyland"

Nat chortled. Rose shrugged with a soft laugh while some laughed

"I don't fancy giving paparazzi a field day." she smiled

"What about those rings and bracelets you made?" Nat asked

"They are temporary solutions. Their magic won't hold up an entire day. And I don't really have time to make a new permanent one." Rose sighed, rotating her coffee mug on the table, "With Steve, I have this huge generation gap. Not sure he'd appreciate my ways of spending an off day."

"And what would be your way of spending an off day?" Nat asked

"Being stuck in the lab only to emerge at her final stage of zombie transition" Mia piped in, as others laughed

"Very funny" Rose tongue teased her, before looking at Nat, "When I literally have nothing to do? stuff all I can, drink all I can and find me a decent hookup and then call it a day. It's not that complicated. Steve," she pointed her finger at Nat, "will condone it more than anything. And since, we already decided to not have strippers involved, so I'm drawing a huge blank."

"Well knocking him off for the day is still an option" Clint piped, "courtesy of Dr. Banner, here"

"How long are you all gonna milk that?

"To its full potential" Tony grinned

"You can take him to the Smithsonian," Mia suggested, "Maybe he'd like to see the whole exhibition they have on him. A walk down the memory lane."

"That's six hours or drive, and say three hours of touring. Nine hours. Even if Steve and I leave around 10 AM, we'd be done by 7 PM. Then what?"

"Go watch a movie." Bruce said, "whatever kids your age like these days"

"I've actually been wanting to see Redemption. The trailer looks cool."

"Yeah?" Bruce muttered

"Me too!" Clint exclaimed

"What's it about?" Tony asked

"Uh...It has Jason Statham, who basically does what he does. Drink, gets involved in organized crime, and is suffering from PTSD."

"Doesn't sound bad"

"Oh and he takes revenge on a man who beats and kills prostitutes."

Bruce paused, raised his head from the list he was making, and looked at her with an expression which clearly said, "Really?", as others laughed at the trap he himself walked into.

"Yup" Rose smiled, "As you said, it doesn't sound bad" she refilled her coffee cup, "Or, I could take him to White House Down. Which I don't think would be a good idea concerning his PTSD. Hell, I don't even what his favorite movie genre is!"

"Something super patriotic, I'd bet" Tony muttered, "Maybe do take him to White House Down"

"It's about a terrorist attack. Not sure Steve would appreciate anything like that considering his own experiences in World War 2" Clint replied

"You've seen the movie?" Nat asked

"Yup"

The next seven minutes were spent in silence.

"You know what, I'm actually considering knocking Steve out cold for the whole day" Rose muttered, got up, placed her mug in the sink, and started making the frosting.

"On second thought, maybe you shouldn't," Bruce said

"One, you gave that idea. Two, he slept for 70 years. What're 24 hours?"

"And I said after that, the idea wasn't good. I don't want that credit"

Rose just rolled her eyes as she poured the frosting into cones.

By 8 PM, the cake was ready. It was a simple butterscotch cake with two tiers. The bottom level was white frosted with red stipes starting from the middle to the sides. The base was lined with caramelized cherries. The above tier was blue frosted. The sides had white stars while the top was designed to resemble Steve's iconic shield.

Rose sighed, pushing past some strands of hair as she finished frosting the entire cake.

"Where did you learn to bake like this?" Nat asked. She had been watching her very keenly since she took the base cakes out of the oven, observing her every motion and movement.

"My foster mum. Ron and George's mum." she smiled, "She taught me most of what I know about cooking. Even passed me down some of her family recipes."

She placed the cones down and rotated the cake to view all of the sides.

"Seems perfect" she muttered and picked the cake.

"It is perfect" Tony agreed

"Need help?" Thor asked

"I'm good" Rose nodded "You know what? I'mma keep this on my floor, just to reduce any chances of Capsicle accidentally discovering the cake."

"Better idea" Bruce nodded

"Captain Rogers has returned"

Everyone exchanged a look.

Rose just grabbed the cake and as quickly as she could, carefully rushed up the stairs to her floor.

* * *

The night routine started at the tower the way it always does. Nat, despite Bruce's chastise, chose to make dinner for everyone. The dinner went normal, except for one thing. Steve didn't show up. He sent a message via JARVIS, that he wasn't hungry at the moment.

"Looks like your job starts now, pumpkin" Tony teased, making his daughter roll her eyes.

Once the dinner finished, The seven people exchanged looks and got to work.

* * *

Rose headed up to Steve's room. She knocked on the door. Nothing.

"Uh...J? What is Cap doing?"

"Captain Rogers is sitting on his bed and listening to music"

"is he decent?"

"I'd say so, Ms."

"Alrighty," she exhaled and entered the room. Steve was on his bed, headphones plugged in, hunched over something. Since his back was facing her, she couldn't tell what it was.

She slowly walked over to him and peeked over his shoulder, making sure her hair didn't touch him as to startle him.

He was hunched over a notebook. A small pocket notebook and was furiously writing something in it. She couldn't clearly see it because of his fingers and built.

She pulled back and composing herself for a second, she tapped him on the shoulder. Steve startled a little, but turned and looked at her. She smiled in return.

Steve pulled down his headphones,

"Oh, hey."

"Hey" she smiled, "You didn't show up for dinner. Everyone was a little worried"

"I wasn't hungry"

"JARVIS told us. Everything alright with you?"

Steve shifted and she sat down on the bed.

Steve took a deep breath and shrugged. The second she realized she was not gonna get any response as such, she decided to change the question

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, looking at his pocket diary.

Steve looked at it then back at her,

"There are so many things I have to catch up with. People around me keep on listing them, so I decided to write them all down."

"May I have a look?"

Steve seemed a little hesitant but handed her the notebook.

_I Love Lucy (Television)_  
_Sherlock (TV Show)_  
_Moon Landing_  
_Steve Jobs (Apple)_  
_Disco_  
_Sean Connery_  
_Thai Food_  
_Cricket_  
_Star Wars/Trek_

"It's impressive so far"

"Thanks"

"And just made me realize how lacking you are to modern times, Grandpa"

Steve looked at her, unamused, "Don't you have places to be?"

"It's 9 PM. Even my employees went home" she replied, then looked up at the ceiling then at Steve

"Say, how about we try to finish this bucket list of yours?"

"It would take weeks"

"Wait. Lemme think" she muttered. Steve could practically see gears in her head moving around.

"JARVIS, any matches with still available tickets?"

there was a three-second silence followed by,

"An ODI match between Scotland and Kenya will start at 12 PM tomorrow afternoon. Shall I book the tickets for the same, Ms.?"

Rose looked at Steve and quirked a brow.

"I think we are going way too fast."

"Do you wanna wait another 70 or so years, Rogers?" she smirked

Steve just narrowed his eyes. she handed him his notebook back and stood up

"We leave tomorrow at 6 in the morning" she turned, "JARVIS, please book the tickets for me and Capsicle here" and she walked out.

Steve just sighed.

* * *

The early morning routine started the same. Except, by the time Nat had come around, Rose too appeared, all showered and dressed and she looked extremely chipper.

"Still drunk?" Nat grumpily asked

"What? No" Rose exclaimed

"It's too early for your happy and chipper self. Please go back. Return to whatever cave you crawled out from. and get here around 9"

"Oh shuddup" rose snapped mockingly, filling her coffee mug

"So, what did you plan?" Bruce asked

"I'm taking Steve to see a cricket match in Scotland. that's like the only ODI I could find. well, Jarvis could find. After that, I guess I think we'll need to think further" she hummed

She sat down and looked at Nat, who had her head on the table and her arms surrounding her heads

"You alright?" she asked

"I'll live" Nat replied

"Painkillers?" she asked Bruce

"I guess" Bruce snorted next to the women while sharing a smile with Rose

"Well, I should get the car ready" she got up and walked out

* * *

By the time Steve had done getting ready, JARVIS had let him know that Rose was waiting for him at the garage.

When he reached there, he found her leaning on her sleek black car, looking in her phone. She had changed from her pajamas into black jeans which seemed skin tight, a white-black striped shirt, and a baby-pink denim jacket. Her hair was clearly straightened from its usual waves.

"About time" she muttered putting the phone in her pocket and getting in the car. Steve slid into the passenger seat.

"Are we really gonna cover everything on the list?" he asked, as she pulled into the main road. The traffic was comparatively slow since it was the early hours, but then again, it was New York.

"We'll try to cover most of them"

"So, what's the itinerary?"

"First we are heading to Mannofield Park for the cricket match. Scotland v/s Kenya. I wished to take you out for an England match, but hey, whatever we can get, right." she spared him a quick look.

"Mannofield Park is in?"

"Scotland."

"Of course" Steve snorted, "Only you would plan an out of the blue trip to a cricket match in a whole another continent, at 6 in the morning"

Rose laughed at that.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again. Start living your life in the present. And today, if we can afford to watch a cricket match live in the stadium, then let's do it. There's no day like today. Also, the time difference."

"Right," Steve smiled, "After the match?"

"Thai food. At first, I thought of us traveling to Thailand for the most authentic Thai food. Then I thought that you may not be able to tolerate that much magical international travel in a single day."

Steve snorted

"Then I remembered about this super awesome Thai restaurant in London. I used to go there with my friends and the food's amazing. So, from Aberdeen, where the match is, we head to London for lunch.

"Following that, DC for Smithsonian Air and Space museum for your Moon Landing experience. Say?"

"Won't it be too hectic?" Steve asked

"Considering both our stamina, no. Magical Travel, even the international one, is just a few seconds long. So, we'll be fine." she paused, and then softly continued "I also planned that we could visit the Berlin Wall, if you want to, that is."

"If I want to?"

Rose took a deep breath, "Do you want to visit Germany?"

Steve, then, realized the depth of that situation and question.

"Berlin Wall is completely optional, which is why I didn't say it earlier."

Rose spared a couple of worried glances at Steve, who looked rather a little stoic.

"Stevie?" she asked

He looked at her

"Hey, you alright?"

Steve took a deep breath, "You know what? Let's visit Berlin Wall." he looked at her, "live in the present"

Rose grinned back

"Awesome"

She finally pulled outside a huge old looking skyscraper.

"Where are we?"

Rose killed the engine and got out of the car, "Broadway. Manhattan Downtown. MACUSA. We are getting our international Portkey here"

Steve followed her out of the car and viewed the skyscraper. 55-60 floors, maybe. The building looked old but in a good way. It looked like every other regular building in Manhattan.

He followed Rose to the entrance. When they reached closer, he noticed a big owl carving near the entrance.

"Don't stray away too far from me. Americans might be a bit liberal towards mundane people, which doesn't mean they like them," she said and Steve quickly followed her lead, staying as close to her as possible without making her uncomfortable or making it creepy.

As they near the revolving door, Rose grabbed Steve's arm. It was then he noticed Rose's hands. They were subtly glowing. In response, the owl's eyes flashed white and then he felt a sudden strong pull.

Steve blinked, trying to regain his posture.

"Welcome to MACUSA"

The place was elegantly gorgeous. The two had ended up in a brilliantly lit grand lobby with a cathedral-like ceiling that was enormous. And even in these early hours had a decent crowd bustling across the halls

"This place is amazing" Steve chuckled

"Yeah? Wait till I take you to Diagon Alley." she chuckled, "Now let's get out portkey"

"Isn't it a bit too early?"

"MACUSA is 24/7. relax"

She tugged his arm and started walking towards the stairs, with him following close behind.

"so what exactly is a portkey?"

Rose turned around, while still climbing the stairs.

"Portkey is basically this enchanted thing that we use for traveling long distances. Each portkey has a specific location keyed to it. Once all concerning parties are in contact with it and a password activates the portkey which will then take you to the location it is keyed to."

"I was gone for 70 years that they ended up inventing instant travel" Steve muttered, walking next to her

Rose looked at him, "Actually portkey has been around for near about 200 years. You just weren't aware of it in the past"

Steve blinked at her, "Right"

Rose giggled at that.

They finally reached their destination, the third floor. On top of the entrance to that level was a huge wooden board with - DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND CUSTOMS

Rose walked to the reception and had to wait for 2 minutes until she was greeted by an employee.

"Good Morning. Welcome to the Department of International Travel and Customs at MACUSA. How may I assist you today?"

"Good Morning." Rose smiled, "Is Jordan Acker in?"

"Let me check that" he nodded and went to his computer(Steve had no idea that magicals used tech. Nat had told her that magical world was pretty backward) and clicked a few buttons.

"Yes, Ms. Acker is available today. Do you have an appointment with her?"

"I'm afraid, no. But it will be quick and we'll be out of you guys' hair in no time"

The employee looked at her in a perfect poker face, "What name should I give her?"

"Rose Stark"

The guy nodded and skittered off.

"Were we supposed to get an appointment beforehand?" Steve leaned closer to her

"Technically, yes. But I had called Jordan earlier about the same. There won't be an issue." She turned back to the front, "According to her, there shouldn't be any"

5 minutes later the guy returned, "Ms. Acker will you see you now"

"Thank you" Rose smiled and headed inside another hallway.

"How often do you come here?"

Rose scoffed, "Sparsely. I prefer my international travel via mundane means."

"Let me get this straight. You prefer to travel 7 hours in flight over 7 seconds of magical travel?"

"Yup," Rose nodded, "And I'm well aware of how it sounds. Don't judge me"

Steve chuckled, "Sometimes you make it hard not to."

Rose just rolled her eyes and stopped in front of a pair of a massive wooden door. The plaque on the door read

_JORDAN ACKER_  
_Head of Department of International Travel and Customs_

She knocked on the door twice, waited until they got a "Come in" and then entered

"Rose" The woman behind the desk greeted with a big warm smile, "It's so good to see you dear. It's been quite some time" and she wrapped the girl in a hug.

the woman was maybe around her early or mid-40s. Honey mocha skin. Black wavy hair and dressed in a somewhat business apparel.

"It's good to see you too" Rose smiled and pulled back, "Jordan, this is Steve Rogers"

"Ah, Captain America" she smiled, light grey eyes glinting, as she held out her hand to him. "It's an honor to meet you"

Steve returned the handshake, "The honor's all mine, mam"

Jordan smirked and looked at Rose, and mouthed something that made Rose laugh out loud. He wanted to ask what she said but chose to save it for later.

"So," Jordan turned and walked back to her desk, "In your call, you said you need an International Portkey for more than one location. International picnic?"

"Something along the lines" Rose smiled, heading to her desk too, Steve right behind her.

Jordan hummed and pulled a piece of thick yellowish paper(?) and kept it on the desk with what looked like a love-child of a fountain pen and a quill.

"Make a proper list of all the places you want to visit. In correct order."

"Alright" Rose nodded and started writing the list.

Once done, she handed it to Jordan.

"Give me 10 minutes"

"Take your time"

Jordan smiled and walked off with the paper.

"Is this kind of special treatment a regular thing?" Steve asked

Rose looked at him while she pulled out her phone

"No. I've known Jordan for a while and she's been very open about me reaching her directly if I ever needed a portkey. It was her idea." she shrugged and pulled out her phone

"What did Jordan say to you that made you laugh?"

Rose looked at him with an amused smirk, "Later. When we are outta here"

"Alright," Steve nodded, "So, are there any more Magical places in New York?" Steve asked

"Quite a few. New York is a magical hub, actually. This is the main headquarters of MACUSA. The biggest branch is in Brooklyn. Every borough has a MACUSA branch or department. There are shopping malls, a zoo...a hospital. I visit them sometimes." she quickly looked at him, "Not the hospital though. Hospitals, magical or mundane, are nasty."

"Yeah, you've said that before" Steve laughed, "What was it that you said? They smell of chemicals and-"

"desperation" they finished together

"I know, I know" Rose chuckled, "But to be honest, they do"

"Agreed" Steve nodded

They stayed silent for a few minutes before Steve spoke up again.

"So, this portkey has to be specially made here? I mean, one has to come here every time they want a portkey?"

"Actually, no. I can make a portkey. Mia can make a portkey. Any decent wizard or witch worth their wand knows how to make a portkey. But while that's common in the UK, rules are different in the US. Any portkey not approved or registered by MACUSA is termed as an illegal portkey and the guilty can be charged for that."

"Charged as in?"

"I don't know. Depends. Could range from meager fines or jail time. I honestly don't know."

They chatted for another five minutes before Jordan returned.

"Thank you for waiting" she smiled

"No problem" Rose smiled

"Here's your portkey" Jordan kept a necklace on the table,

"A necklace?" Steve asked

"We prefer to make portkeys out of mundane and regular objects so as to avoid detection, Captain" Jordan answered him and then looked back at her, "It's been keyed to all the places in that list in the order. So, no going back"

"Got it"

"The password is Ultores"

Rose looked at Jordan, "Couldn't have kept anything more obvious, could you?"

Jordan slightly smirked, "We had to keep an easy-to-remember password"

Rose just shook her head and grabbed the necklace.

"Thanks, Jordan."

"No problem. Feel free to drop by anytime you want"

"Sure"

Once they were out Steve leaned towards her again, "Don't we have to pay for that?"

"I covered the cost. Relax."

Once the two were out of the building, Rose walked into the side alley. She looped the necklace around her wrist, took Steve's wrist, looped the necklace around it too.

"Ready?" she asked

"I'm not quite sure suddenly"

"It'll be fine. Just hold on tight." she smiled and then intertwined her hand with him, tightly, "There"

Steve nodded

"Alright. Ultores"

* * *

If Steve had to define the feeling of portkey, it felt like he was being tugged from his navel and pushed through a tiny tube at a very high speed.

His head spun so fast and the next thing he knew, Rose was helping him standup

"You alright, Stevie?"

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath, resting his palms on his knees, breathing heavily, taking an account to see if he was in one piece

"Steve?"

He gulped. What that bile he tasted at the back of his throat?

"Oh my god" quickly he was spun around and he felt something on his face. It probably took him a bit of time to finally get back his composure. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with greenery a bit too closely for his liking.

He swallowed and got up. There was still some pressure on his back. He turned to face Rose, who was looking at him with a very worried expression but that was all. She looked rather fine.

"Are you okay? Can I get you something? Is there anything you need?"

Steve swallowed again and looked at her

"I'll be fine." he swallowed again, "I think"

"Merlin, I should have brought something along. I thought the serum would nullify the effects of portkey apparition. Apparently, I was wrong"

"Some water and I'll be fine"

"Water" Rose nodded, "We are close to the venue. Come on."

Instead of holding his hand, she looped her arm around his and tugged him. To be honest, that definitely didn't take Steve's mind partially off his discomfort, neither did it increase his heartbeat nor made him blush. He was fine.

Get a grip, Rogers. This is NOT a date. She's just helping you finish your bucket list.

* * *

Mannofield Park was just a massive ground. Surrounding the circumference were sheds of sorts, some small accommodation, and bleachers.

At the entrance, Rose showed their booked ticket, and they entered. Rose had him seated, and left.

There wasn't a large crowd. A decent one. He saw the pitch in the middle of the ground which looked so different compared to baseball. If only he could have remembered to carry his sketchbook with him. He looked around, spotting a clock that read 11.30 AM. Okay...

"Water"

He turned just as Rose sat down, pushing a piece of pink hair behind her ear as she passed him a water bottle

"and I got some crisps and sandwiches for snacks," she said showing a bunch of potato chips packets, more than 2 sandwiches, and a few more tidbits "Did I get everything? I guess."

Steve just opened the water bottle and almost finished it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked

"Better" Steve nodded, recapping the bottle

"Great." she nodded with a smile, "So, we got here in time. the match will start in the next 15 minutes. And all you gotta do is watch there, listen to me and just look pretty"

Steve looked at her and found her beaming. He too smiled and shook his head fondly.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

Steve looked forward as two teams entered the stadium from opposite sides.

"Wish I had my sketchbook"

"I think I saw a stationery shop. Lemme just grab it" Rose quickly stood up but stopped when Steve held her arm,

"You don't have to"

"Hey" she smiled, "If you want to capture this moment in the paper, who am I stop you? It'll be just a couple of pounds. I'll be right back."

He let go of her arm, and with a smile, she jogged off.

She quickly rushed to the stationary shop she had seen while buying snacks and stuff. She brought a sketchbook, quite similar to one steve had back at the tower. She purchased a couple of pencils, sharpness, erasers, and a small pouch to keep these in. She made it back to the bleachers just before the toss.

"Oh great. I thought I'd get late" she muttered, sitting next to him and handed him the supplies.

"right. So listen to me and listen carefully. These are the two teams. Green and maroon, that's Kenya. Dark blue, Scotland. The guy in the middle, with the big white hat, that's the umpire. Usually, ODI, that is One-Day International, matches have two umpires. One's that guy and the other stands at the circumference, facing the batsman. Big matches, like the world cup, have a third umpire. Just general trivia"

"okay" Steve nodded

"the game is started with a toss. The winner gets to choose whether they'd like to bat or ball."

"So, it's pretty much like baseball, basically"

Rose paused, blinking, then shrugged cluelessly, "I guess?"

Steve looked at her, studying her for a solid minute.

"You've never seen a baseball match have you?"

"Pfft. what? Of course, I have"

Steve tilted his head and smirked at her, while she was avoiding his gaze

"Fine" she exhaled, "I've never seen a baseball match. Or heard. Or attended. Between cricket and Quidditch, I didn't really get time to do that"

Steve chuckled, "Tell ya what? I'm going to take you to a baseball match and introduce you to that wonderful culture"

Rose chuckled, "It's a date, then" then looked back ahead, "Okay, they are tossing now"

For the next 6 hours, Rose was constantly telling him everything about cricket. He would ask questions here and there and she'd try his best to answer them. Then he'd nod to himself and continue drawing.

The match ended with Scotland winning by 4 wickets.

It was starting to get dark by the time they walked out, but eve then Steve vigorously kept up with his queries and doubts. Rose managed to pretty much answer them all. Ones she couldn't answer, she asked him to write them down so she could look for the answers once they got back.

Once they were at a safe distance and away from prying eyes, Rose removed the necklace from around her neck and held it out for him.

"do we have to?" Steve actually pouted and Rose wouldn't mind admitting that took her off guard a little. Come on. Seeing a 6 feet something super soldier World War 2 veteran, the guy who kicked alien arse and was the de facto leader of the Earth's first line of defense pouting like a five-year-old was not a regular scene.

"Well," Rose cleared her throat, "Unless you wanna catch an 8-hour train and miss all other things we have planned for the day"

Reluctantly, Steve grabbed the supplies harder and then the necklace

"Ultores"

* * *

This time was a bit easier on Steve compared to the first time. And this time, they had landed in an alley.

"You are doing way better than I did"

"I am?" Steve asked as the two started walking

"The first time I apparated, which is what portkey does, I heaved my entire day's food. It was not fun"

Steve chuckled as they exited into the main road and started walking along the sidewalk.

"So where are we?"

"Highbury. Northern London. I'll be honest, I haven't had a lot of Thai food. but this one is burned in my brain." she smiled and pointed towards the restaurant at the corner of the opposite street

The two waited for the red light before crossing the road and heading to their destination.

"As a virgin in this scenario, I'd suggest going a little easy on the food"

Steve looked at her, "Why don't you order for me?"

"Fair enough"

They entered the place and took the available two-seater table.

"Okay" Rose exhaled

They were greeted by awaited 5 minutes later since the place had its beginning of dinner rush. He handed them the menu, served their drinks and left.

"Call it, Pink"

Rose paused. she put down the menu and looked at him, staring into his blue eyes

"Be honest with me. How long did it take for you to come up with that nickname?"

"Longer than I'd like." Steve nodded to himself, "I can't call you Rosie. yet."

Rose smiled amusedly at the confidence he was showing

"So I had to come up with something"

"And you came up with 'Pink'? You do realize my hair isn't pink, right?"

"I know, I know. It's a purple-rose gold gradient. Rose gold being the major color. That kinda defeats the purpose."

Rose laughed

"I mean, who colors their hair the same color as their name?"

Rose laughed harder at that

"Oh, steve" she chuckled and then picked the menu, "any food allergies, dislikes, or tantrums I should be aware of?"

"I don't have any, I'm open to trying new things, and no"

Rose quirked an amused brow at Steve, scanned the menu, and once she made a mental list of all things required, she flagged down a waiter.

"Hi. We'd have a Gai Prik, salted prawn maing dish and...spicy southern coconut curry. Kâao. and Massaman curry" she closed the menu and looked at the waiter, "That'd be all."

"any deserts mam?"

"Rain check on that, please. Thank you"

The waiter nodded and left.

"You have a strong British accent"

"I'm aware of that"

"Okay, what did Jordan say to you? earlier?"

Rose chuckled, "she just said that she liked you"

"And that made you laugh?"

"Hey, not to speak bad of her, but...Jordan has a...certain...reputation"

"As in?"

"Okay," Rose exhaled, crossed her arms on the table, "Do you know what a cougar means?"

"I'm gonna presume you don't mean the big cat but the other meaning"

"Yes, genius. the other meaning"

Realization dawned on him

"Jesus Christ" he groaned which again made her laugh, "I'm 90 above"

"You look quite fine for a 90-something man, you know"

Steve narrowed his eyes at her.

"Besides, technically, you are in your late 20s. she's in her late 40s. And like I said, you look fine. No wonder she'd start hitting on you the moment she saw you"

"You are making me feel weird"

"I'm just telling you what you wanted to know"

Steve groaned, "Wonderful"

"there, there" she patted on his arm.

The food came ten minutes later. Steve actually enjoyed the food a lot more than Rose anticipated.

"Okay," Rose asked, "As an Irish, born and brought up in the USA, what's is the most European thing you have done?"

Steve thought for a minute, eating the rice, "Uh...mmm...drinking that authentic beer with you?"

Rose paused, looking at him gobsmacked, "Shut the front door!" she muttered, "Are you bloody serious?"

"I know. I know. it's bad"

Rose rolled her eyes, "That would be an understatement, big guy"

"I'm not that big" Steve replied, "Have you seen Thor?"

"Thor's a literal god. You are superhuman, but a human nonetheless." she stopped chewing and looked at him, "You are what? 6'2"?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm 5'5". I'm literally the smallest person on the team. Height, weight, body shape, everything wise. Even Nat's 5'7". Mia's 5'7". To me, everyone is big."

Steve softly laughed, "No wonder you love wearing heels"

"Okay, one, rude. Two, offensive. I'm not sure if you've heard to not, but big surprises come in small packages. Three, if heels give me an additional four inches, why are your knickers in a twist?"

Steve chuckled, "I'm just saying. I never realized how small you were." At Rose's glare, he quickly added, "I knew you were small, I could see. But not as small as you just portrayed yourself as. And yes, I've heard of that saying."

Rose muttered something about rude ass Americans before going back to eating.

* * *

After lunch(early dinner), they decided to head to their next spot, the Berlin Wall.

The first place they visited was Old St Hedwig Cemetery.

"I did not name my snow owl after the cemetery" she quickly said

"I didn't ask or say anything"

"Just wanted to clarify before you did"

Rose quickly started telling the story behind the wall and the significance of the certain cemetery. They started walking along the wall.

In the next 4 hours, they visited Bösebrücke, Checkpoint Charlie, East side gallery, Berlin Wall memorial, Gutspark Groß Glienicke, Mauerpark, Schlesischer Busch, Potsdamer Platz, and Topography of Terror. By the time they finished their tour, it was around 12 AM midnight.

Steve just stretched and sat down at a nearby bench

"Aren't we done already? It's midnight now!" he complained

Rose rolled her eyes, "Technically it is 7 PM." she almost shoved her phone into his face with New York time on it, "And no, we are not done. We still have that DC moon landing experience. Don't tell you are getting tired, Spangles. You are deeply letting me down here"

She didn't if Steve actually took the bait or pretended to do so, but he got slightly offended at that statement.

"I'm not tired" he argued back

"Uh-huh. Sure" Rose nodded then looked at her phone again which was showing Berlin time and New York time on the screen, "Maybe we can go home and call it a day. I'll Thor to make dinner for us too." she started dialing to JARVIS

"Wait. I never said I was tired"

"You implied that"

Steve took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, "After DC?"

"Home. That was the plan"

Steve looked at her, "Okay. We'll do DC"

"Sure?"

"Yeah"

"Great" Rose exhaled, "I'd have hated to ask a refund on those first-class tickets I bought"

"First class. of course" Steve rolled his eyes as Rose removed the necklace from her neck again and held it for him with a somewhat victorious smile.

Steve held it and she said the word.

* * *

Landing in DC, they walked to the Smithsonian museum. Rose showed the tickets on her phone and the two entered.

They got in just in time to join a tour group. The man, seeing Rose, gave her a curt nod with a smile. Rose returned the nod back with a smile and kept a finger on her lips. The last thing she wanted was the whole museum to know that she and Captain America were there. The man, who was an old college friend of hers, just nodded with another smile

"Here" She quickly slipped Steve's ring to him and he quickly put it around his finger.

The whole tour, Steve was intently listening to the tour guide, asking great questions here and there. She on the other hand spent the entire tour on her phone, keeping up with the team and their preps. Tony had let her know that a parcel was sent to the tower via an owl. Once Mia enlarged it to its usual size, it turned out to be a package of gift items from Weasleys, who unfortunately couldn't attend due to short notice.

Other than that, the cake was still fine. The decor was almost finished. Tony was ordering their dinner from a high-end restaurant.

**Legolass**

**L: We r done 3/4th here.**

**R: So what am I to do? Tour ends in another 30 minutes**

**L: You cannot come home in 30 minutes. Fuck no! We are nowhere complete!**

**R: I'm running out of plans here?!**

**L: IDK!**

**R: Ugh...fine! I'll see if Nat has any ideas.**

She screenshotted her chat with Clint, exited, and then sent the screenshot to Nat

**Russian Roulette**

**R: (screenshot) How bad is the sitch?**

**RR: We are almost done.**  
**__Did you honestly save Clint's contact by that name or is it a typo?**

**R: It is not a typo**

**RR:🤣🤣🤣🤣**  
**__Wait  
** **__What did you save my contact as?**

**R: Not the point! I don't have any idea what to do?!**

**RR: What's in the itinerary?**

**R: This was supposed to be the last destination! Nat! come on! Give me something or I'm bringing him back!**

**RR: Geez! hold it. Lemme think**

**R: Think fast!**

"Everything alright?"

Rose looked at Steve who was looking at her a little confused

"Y-Yeah. everything's perfect. Why?" she quietly lowered her phone

"You were typing quite aggressively"

Rose exhaled, "It's just some office stuff. Nothing to worry about. How much of the tour is left?"

"I think 20 more minutes."

"Oh good. You focus there. I'll handle everything here"

"Okay" Steve nodded and she looked back at her phone

**Russian Roulette**

**RR: Bar**

**RR: Broadway**

**RR: No, scratch that. Rogers doesn't seem like the theater guy**

**RR: Strip club! -Clint**

**RR: Do NOT take him to dinner -Mia**

**RR: Shopping**

**RR: Do NOT take him to bar! - Mia**

**RR: idk**

**R: Whoa! u ok there, Nat?**

**RR: Yeah. Bruce just got an earful for suggesting something super stupid.**

**R: Look, I'll lay it simple. Tour ends in 20 mins. Suggest me somewhere to take him or I'm bringing him home**

**RR: White house down?**

**R: really?**

**RR: Sure**

Rose sighed softly rubbing her temple

**R: Fine. you have 2.30 hours more. Finish quick.**

Finally, after 2 hours of Smithsonian tour, Steve looked pretty content.

At the cafeteria, where they decided to take a small rest and snacks, Steve stretched

"I'm so ready to go home and call it a day," he said

"Yeah" she nervously laughed, "Hey, I was thinking. Wanna go to a movie?"

"Now? Rose, it's well past 9 PM"

"I know. But I-"

"You said the Smithsonian tour and then home. Your words"

Rose exhaled. Why was she so impulsive?

"Fine. We are going home."

Steve snorted, "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you don't want us to go back home"

Rose's eyes slightly widened at that, but she didn't reply.

The two walked out when Rose realized something

"Fuck!" she muttered under her breath

"What?"

"My car is in Manhattan." she looked at him, "Most probably, we have to take the train"

Steve exhaled, "Let's do that"

* * *

Apparently, luck was on her side. As it turned out, the train ride from DC to Manhattan downtown was about 2.5 hours. She could have apparated them to their destination, but she needed to stall him, so if not the movie, then the train ride was it.

They spoke about various things on their way. Their experiences and everything. In that time frame, they shared photos on social media and checked some of their posts.

By 11.30, the two reached Manhattan from where it was a walking distance to MACUSA. From the parking of the building, she paid for the parking, and they got in the car. The traffic wasn't huge and in another 20 minutes, they were at the tower.

She was pretty sure JARVIS would have alerted others of their arrival. So when Steve threw a confused glance at her when JARVIS stopped the elevator at the extra training room floor, she didn't answer. Just looked ahead.

The elevator door opened and,

"SURPRISE!"

Steve almost jumped. And then a huge grin made it to his face

The cake was cut, gifts were given, drinks were distributed and food was eaten. This was a much quieter party compared to Tony's.

And Rose was so ready to call it a day. That much international apparition and hours of touring were starting to wear a bit down on her. It was well past 3 PM when everyone decided to go to bed.

* * *

Rose exhaled as she sat on the couch. A live feed of the 4th of July celebrations going on the TV in front of her.

Steve came to sit next to her,

"So you really didn't want me to be home yesterday" he chuckled

"Uh-huh"

"Thank you"

Rose scoffed, "Maybe you should save that"

"For what?" Steve looked at her and frowned a little

She looked back at him, "For 9th December"

She chuckled when Steve's eyes widened, "I know for a fact that your actual birthday isn't on 4th July, but 9th December. No clue why you lied to the entire world for over 7 decades" she chuckled, "But a good one. Even I can't pull anything like that. More like I haven't tried to"

"You knew!" he whispered sharply

"Yup"

"And you still organized the party"

"I know. Dad knows. Others, no, they are clueless. And we didn't wanna blow up your cover like that. So we played along"

"How the hell did you know? About that?"

"Howard" she exhaled before grinding at him, "You really thought that Dad and I would gift you an artist set for your birthday?"

Steve blinked, "That artist set cost $1500 dollars!"

Rose rolled her eyes, "Lemme just say, you'll be getting your real birthday gift on your real birthday" she tossed the remote on the couch, stretched, patted him on the shoulder, and turned, "Till then, better keep up the cover"

Before Steve could reply, Mia walked in

"Oh hey Steve"

"Hey"

"So, I just got contacted by a White House secretary asking me to ask you if you could do a speech for the 4th of July celebrations and it being your birthday"

That got Rose to laugh. Steve took a deep breath, "Y-Yeah, I'll do it"

That caused Rose to laugh louder

"Great." Mia smiled

Steve got up and left

"Everything alright, Rosie?"

She just waved her off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 finished, 2 more to go. And I'll be free😁
> 
> I know I said 1.5 months, but I got pretty bored between my exams, and I only have 2 more left, so I decided to polish what I had written and post it. The next chapter would be updated around Christmas.
> 
> I trust you guys to make some heads and tails from this chapter
> 
> After this, there will be 2 more chapters and it's CA:TWS, and that some serious spice in it, I can assure you. Other than that, you know the regular drill- Favorite, Follow, and Review.
> 
> Ciao


	26. Stark Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alt chapter title: How a completely avoidable situation got messed up.

Natasha Romanoff rarely got bored. She'd usually have SHIELD mission on her plate or a list of people she wanted to stab in the face just to settle the score or be SHIELD's eyes and ears. But today, she didn't have much to do.

So here she was, lying on the couch with her head resting on Thor's lap, feet on Bruce's lap, scrolling down her phone. Thor was watching some documentary on the History Channel and Bruce was slightly dozing.

And then she stumbled on something. A particular tweet piqued her interest. She frowned and clicked to see the profile of the tweeter, find anything. There wasn't much, though. Just the fact that he was following only Tony, Rose, SI, and Avengers official accounts on Twitter. And would respond to almost every single of Starks' tweets-mostly all of Tony's-, like and retweet them. He would tweet and tag Tony whenever it was concerned, or Rose or Avengers.

Tony had not responded even once to those tweets. And Nat knew that he had a guy to work his social media, and clearly this guy thought this mysterious tweeter to be a rabid fanboy or something.

But something was weird. Going through his tweets, it seemed that he and Tony had personally met and had some sort of connection or relation. which could easily be a fake one to gain an audience. But it did seem genuine to a degree.

She wondered how she missed this guy before. Then again, only two people on the team used the most of social media. Clint and Rose. And Rose preferred IG over Twitter, so clearly she wouldn't have noticed. Or even if she had, she too had the same assumption as Tony's social media guy.

"But I still think you can sharpen the edges"

"To what?"

"Cut through things. Bad guys. Come on Steve, at this point, your shield is nothing but a glorified frisbee. It'd be better if it could be used in multiple ways for multiple people."

"Just say you want to train with the shield. I wasn't going to say no if you asked, Clint"

"Okay. So can I train with your shield, Capsicle?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yes, you can"

Nat looked over to see a silly smile on Clint's face.

"Hey, Clint," she asked, gaining the attention of the two blondes, "does Harley Keener ring any bells?"

Clint thought for a few seconds, "You mean the kid that keeps replying and tagging Tony in his tweets?"

"Kid? What kid?" Steve asked, slightly confused

"It's a kid?" Nat asked, sitting up

"Uh...what?" Bruce asked, being woken up by Nat's movement

"Nothing. Go back to sleep" Nat muttered

"Okay" and Bruce back to his soft snores

"Does Stark has another child?" Thor asked, pausing the TV

"Whoa. No one said that." Clint replied, "Just some fanboy, I guess"

"Doesn't seem so. Have you seen his tweets?"

"Not since I found out he was a literal kid."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Steve asked

"There's this fanboy kid that is after Tony. Nothing big" Clint replied

"I don't think so" Nat replied, walking up to the blonds and handing the phone to Clint, "Check out his tweets"

As Clint went through them, Steve turned to Nat

"You think Tony has a secret son or something?"

"Well, knowing his past habits, I wouldn't put it past him" she crossed her arms, "And considering that Tony hasn't replied to any of those tweets, I'd say he hadn't seen him."

"Don't you think Rose would have known? I mean, he's been a single dad for about 23 years now. If he had another kid, wouldn't he have raised him along with Rose?"

"Maybe she doesn't know?"

"I find that hard to believe" Thor piped in, coming up to stand behind Nat, "Stark and Rose have a very intimate relationship. I'm sure Rose would know if her father had sired another child."

Three heads turned to look at him

"What?" he asked

"Just for future reference, Thunderbird, never refer to a father-child relationship as intimate around here. People get wrong ideas in their heads" Clint said, still going through the tweets

"I meant that Stark is very close to his daughter and Rose is extremely close to her father. I do not understand what else can Midgaridans comprehend from that statement"

"We know you didn't mean anything wrong or offensive. Just be careful with your words on Earth, alright?" Steve said, "People can easily misinterpret, or paraphrase your words into something entirely different." he exhaled, "Especially when you are under the spotlight"

Thor nodded in understanding.

"Okay. I understand where you are coming from Nat." Clint said as Steve took her phone to see the tweets as well, "You think we should talk to Tony?"

"I guess" Nat nodded

"But what if this kid is not Tony's kid?" Steve asked, "I mean why would he hide this from the world?"

"Well, to be honest, he hid his only daughter from the world for about 18 years." Clint replied, "How hard would another kid be?"

"There must be some reason." Nat shrugged

"So what?"

"We can discuss this matter with Rose and Stark at the dinner"

"Seems right." Nat nodded while the blonds agreed.

* * *

Steve was making dinner. He was almost done when Pepper joined him.

"Hey Pepper" he smiled

"Hey" Pepper smiled back, sitting on the island stool, "Smells good"

"Thanks" he grinned back, "Where are the two geniuses?" he asked, noticing their absence, "Will we be graced by their presence?"

Pepper chuckled, "Rose is having a shower. She'll be down soon. Tony had dinner with Rose and a business associate earlier this evening. I don't think he'll be coming"

"I didn't know Tony still partook in company stuff"

"It's astronomical, as of late. Mostly when it is either me or Rose dragging him with us for company stuff. She might be the CEO and I might be the COO, but Tony's still the owner"

Steve paused, "I thought you were Rose's PA"

Pepper laughed softly, "You and quite a lot of people. When Tony made Rose the CEO, she asked me to be the COO since the position of kind of vacant and we needed a competent person up there. I took the opportunity. This meant that Rose had to get a PA of her own. This is Brittany's first job as a PA. And you know Rose." she chuckled fondly, "Like father like daughter. I had to spend quite some time in training Brittany on how, when, and where to pull Rose's strings to get work done."

"Didn't that put extra load on you?"

"I already had a PA. So, not much. Brit needed it way more. The news got around that I was PAing Rose while also doing my job as the COO. Don't know who started it. Rose doesn't let me live down that."

"Don't tell me Rose doesn't do anything about it"

"She's actually quite quick to correct people when they assume I'm still her PA. She's always correcting people that I'm her COO, not her PA, but people rarely listen" she sighed, "They see me more as a PA material than as a COO material, considering I worked for Tony for nearly 15 years as his PA." she smiled, "Well at least we'd have to correct one less person." she chuckled but Steve didn't miss the disappointment in her voice.

"Hey guys," Nat walked in and sat next to Pepper, "What's going on?"

"Did you know that Pepper is not Rose's PA but COO?" Steve asked

"Uh...yes? I used to be Pepper's assistant"

Steve stared at Nat for a couple of seconds, then he looked at Pepper, then back at Nat.

"Dinner will be ready in 10" and he turned back to the stove

Nat and Pepper shared a look and then burst out laughing. Steve just rolled his eyes.

In the next ten minutes, everyone but Tony turned up for dinner. Which was fine since he had the heads up. They ate with their regular chitter-chatter, teasing and laughing.

After dinner, Pepper, Mia, and Bruce called it a night. Thor wanted to go too but stayed behind to see things unfold.

Rose was going through her phone, sipping on her tea, a regular scene when Nat and Clint approached her and sat down opposite to her.

Rose folded her legs, "What's wrong?"

The two assassins shared a look, "Do you know any Harley Keener?"

Rose thought for a couple of seconds, "Doesn't ring any bells," she looked at them, "Why?"

Nat just handed her phone to Rose. She lowered her own phone and took Nat's which had the page of a Harley Keener open on it. she started going down his tweets. Okay, someone was obsessed with her dad and Iron Man. Nothing new.

"We think there might be more than just a fanboy-idol thing going on"

Rose paused and looked at the two for a solid moment before speaking, "You think this kid's my brother or something"

"Well, his tweets are pretty specific with certain details. Details that were never revealed to the public during the Killian agenda."

Rose pressed her lips and looked at them blankly before she returned Nat's phone,

"I'm pretty sure I'd know if Dad had a love child. That too this big. Trust me, I'm Tony Stark's only child whatsoever." she smiled, "But thanks for looking out for us" she chuckled, got up, kept her mug in the sink, bid everyone goodnight, and left via stairs.

Instead of going up, she walked downstairs. The lab doors opened for her without any code and she entered, looking for Tony and finally spotting him on his chair with some new blueprints. She walked to him and pulled another chair to sit right next to him.

"Maybe you should lower the pressure by 11.2%. That will increase the efficiency by...18.4%" she said, as JARVIS made the changes on the holoscreen

"lowering the pressure will increase the temperature"

"not if you increase the volume too. Expand it a little more."

JARVIS made more changes.

Tony hummed.

"Harley Keener?" she asked next

Tony looked at her for the first time and she looked back at him. He minimized the screens and turned to face her

"Where did you hear his name?"

"Twitter"

It seemed like Tony was going to ask something but stopped. They had a deal. After every single shit both of them have gone through they had made a pact a long time ago- they won't talk about the 'incidents' until absolutely necessary. Rose still had no idea what actually entailed during the 3 months Tony had been kidnapped or what happened during the EXTREMIS issue. In return, Tony didn't know about the things she had gone through at School and what actually happened during the war. They never asked the other person, knowing that if needed, one would confide in another.

Tony just looked at her, "When I was stranded in Tennessee during the whole Killian thing, I got help from a kid. Harley."

"Tennessee," she muttered, "Rose Hill? Those...uh...mechanical stuff and parts you had delivered there. That was for Harley"

Tony nodded with a smile, "I haven't heard from that kid in so long" he chuckled, "Tried to guilt trip me"

Rose smiled in return.

"So, honestly, where did you hear his name?"

"Twitter. Nat and Clint thought you had a secret love child who finally surfaced and they asked me."

Tony snorted loudly, "Right. Lovechild"

"So, why haven't you contacted him back?"

"What do you mean?"

Rose blinked in confusion, "Have you not seen his tweets?"

Tony frowned a little, "What tweets?"

Rose exhaled, opened Twitter on her own phone, opened the relevant page, and handed it to him.

Tony scrolled through Harley's account and tweets, "Well, Alex and I are gonna have some strong words"

"Not his fault." Rose crossed her arms, "You never told him to watch out for this kid."

Tony sighed and handed the phone back to her, "How do I contact him? Should I call him or something? Maybe I can go see him?"

"Dad, the press will eat this whole shit alive if they found out about Harley. And they will be a lot harder to convince than the team." she stood up, "Lemme think of something." she smiled, "Now, even I wanna meet him"

she turned and started walking out, "Don't do anything reckless" she called out

"As if" Tony loudly scoffed

* * *

That night, Rose spent some quality time, digging information about one Harley Keener. Just Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts and not some SHIELD level snooping. He's a kid, for God's sake. She was pretty into it when something super random yet related was suggested on her FB account.

Herley's school was hosting a science fair and some competition within.

she went to the school's website and read all there was about the science fair and the competition. A few more digs and it came out that the school was lacking funds. She plopped on her couch as things ran through her mind at a kilometer per second.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms.?"

"Dad had this...uh...initiative for kids, right? scholarships or grants or something?"

"That would be September Foundation, Ms."

"Right. September Foundation" she muttered, pressing her lips together for a few seconds, "Think you can pull all the info we have on that?"

"Of course"

Rose spent the next couple of hours formulating a plan when the September Foundation would be the key.

* * *

Next morning.

"J? Can you ask dad to come and see me before breakfast?" she asked, tying her hair into a bun

"Message has been conveyed, Ms."

"Thank you, hun" with that she plopped into the shower.

She came out about 15 minutes later, quickly pulled her lingerie and dress. She used magic to pull up the zip and sat in front of the mirror as her regular routine.

She was doing her hair when JARVIS informed her that Tony had come around to see her. he knocked on her door and then entered.

"What's up?" he asked

"I found a way for you to meet Harley without tipping off the press in a wrong way"

"Okay..." Tony trailed off leaning at the doorway.

JARVIS brought forth the holo screens

"September Foundation?" Tony muttered

"Yeah. I recalled you had this grant-scholarship thing planned when I was in college. And Harley's school needs funds And it is hosting a science fair."

Tony was quick to connect the dots.

"I really don't wanna be around angsty teens" he pressed his lips

Rose paused braiding her hair and just looked at him in the mirror.

"You live with angsty adults. You raised an angsty teen. How bad would a school full of them be?" she asked, tying a rubber band at the tip, "besides, it'll be fun. I've never gone to a public high school. "

Tony took a deep breath, "Fine. But if he tries to guilt-trip me again, I'm pushing you upfront"

"got it" Rose muttered, puckering her lips as she applied her lipstick.

* * *

The science fair was in 2 weeks. Which was more than enough time.

The first thing she did, was approaching Brittany.

"Good morning, mam" the blonde girl smiled

"Morning, sweetheart." Rose smiled back, "Hey, I got some work for you,"

The next 10 minutes were spent explaining everything to Brittany, who nodded with affirmative and got to work.

About two hours later, she received a mail from the Board and Pepper. All in all, they approved this initiative. Had it been Tony next to her, he'd have asked her why she even bothers with these old geezers?

She's still young, hence doesn't have much experience running a multi-billion-dollar empire. She's good, even great, but not experienced. And Tony hated talking business with her as "family time is not to talk of business. Unless of course, you have nice tea to spill".

Then she wrote a mail to Harley's school, BCC'd Pepper and the Board, and sent it out, hoping for the best.

Pepper joined her and Brittany for lunch. They gossiped a little, discussed company matter when Pepper finally brought up the grant scheme.

"So you and Tony decided to start a grant out of nowhere?"

"something like that" Rose chuckled

"Oh come on, Rosie. I've known you and your father for what? 15 years?" Pepper snorted, "While I love that both of you are taking some great measures, there has to be a bigger picture."

Rose sighed, "I wanna meet this kid"

"What kid?" Brittany asked

"During the whole...Killian thing," Rose off-handedly waved her hand, (Brittany didn't know the details) "Dad was helped by this kid down in Tenneessee. And he's blowing up on Twitter, tagging dad and occasionally me in his tweets." she licked her fingers without any disgust whatsoever, "piqued my interest."

Pepper opened her mouth to say something, but Rose spoke up,

"AND I discussed the entire with Dad. Trust me, the last thing I was is a fucking PR disaster. Mia and DD will maim me."

Brittany snorted at that. DD, or Diane Dawson, was Rose's Publicist and PR manager. And the one who usually cleaned up after her, should she make any mess(which was rare). And since it was also Rose's job to clean up should her father make any mess (it wasn't. But after the last guy was fired for his incompetence and Tony stepped down, he declared he didn't need any PR guy or publicist so Rose took the job to pipe in here and there; which sometimes increased DD's job by extension), DD will sure shot maim her if Press got any twisted shit of a forest fire from a tiny, innocent spark.

"Yeah they will," Brittany muttered

Rose mock gasped, "Do I hear no sympathy in the voice of my favorite personal assistant? Un-accep-table!"

Brittany rolled her eyes while Pepper snickered, "Mam, first of all, I'm your only PA. Second, Ms. Granger and DD adore you, so they probably won't maim you as much as they'll grill you alive. Also, you are their employer. Third, If something can be avoided, why not avoid it?"

"I've taught you well, my young padawan" Pepper looked at Britany with proudness in her eyes

"Wait, is that a Star Wars reference?!"

"Thank you, master" Brittany slightly bowed her head

"Well then, I must take my leave. I have a meeting in the next 30 minutes" Pepper stood up, followed by Brittany

"Guys! Pepper! Come on! Brit! Love! Honeybuns! Was that a Star War reference?! Guys?!" but they both walked out

rose just sighed and pressed her temples

"If I may, Miss," JARVIS chimed, "That was not a reference to the Star Wars franchise"

"Thank you JARVIS. You are the best. The absolute best"

* * *

"It's all set"

Tony looked up from his work as Rose entered his lab and hopped on top of a clean desk. She was still in her dress and heels, so it was safe to say she came straight from the office.

"What?"

"I spoke with the Board, Pepper, and Harley's school. We are now the judges of this Science Fair at the school."

"That's nice. Board didn't make a fuss about it?"

"Not exactly." Rose shrugged

Tony folded his arms and raised a brow at her, "What did you do?"

"Worked it out so you can meet this kid and the world doesn't have to think that you have a secret love-child?"

Tony snorted, "Not that. What did you tell the Board and got the old goats to agree?"

Rose puckered her lips for a second, before she looked at him, swinging her legs back and forth, "I may have offered a special internship at SI, on top of the grants to top 3 kids" she said, "That way, it'd be easier and we'd have better resources at hand"

"Go on..."

"Besides, if this kid is as smart as you say he is, I think we should keep him close"

Tony took a deep breath, "That's a lot better than expected." He turned and walked around the desk, "And you are starting to sound a lot like the HR woman"

"Who?"

"Uh...the one with curly blonde hair, I suppose. Has a Boston accent?"

"You mean Alice Wheaton?"

"Is that her name? I thought it was Alyssa or something" he waved offhandedly, "Point is, could you please not sound like her? You are the CEO and a scientist. HR doesn't look good on you. Please don't sound like that"

Rose chuckled amusedly, "I'll try. But no promises." she hopped off, "And I also checked in with HR. So, maybe that's why I'm sounding like her. Anyway, it's in 2 weeks"

"Plenty of time" Tony replied

"Which I why I don't want you whining at the last moment that I didn't tell you earlier and you 'forgot' the event."

"Got it" Tony nodded with a straight face

Rose rolled her eyes amused and chuckled, as she left for her room to change into something comfy.

* * *

2 weeks later

Rose was at the breakfast table, all dressed and ready.

"Breakfast is ready" Thor declared

Rose sighed into her coffee mug, careful not to spill any on her pristine white blouse.

"J? Is dad ready?" she asked

"Sir would be there in 6 minutes, miss"

"Thanks, buddy"

6 minutes later, Tony appeared. Rose raised a brow. He had ditched tux and had gone with a blazer-t-shirt-jeans combo and sports shoes.

"Lemme guess, tie issue?" she asked, eating her breakfast

"I will neither admit nor deny that fact"

chuckles resonated around the table.

"Alright. flight leaves in 30"

Tony almost pouted and felt like he was going to have a retort, but didn't. The duo hadn't told anyone else on the team about the exact details of this trip of theirs. Just that it was a business trip.

45 minutes later found the Starks at the airport as they walked to their private jet. 3 hours later, they were in Nashville. Another 30-minute drive and they finally reached Rose Hill. Their driver had dropped directly at the school, where the Principle, Rose Hill's mayor, and such people greeted them.

After exchanging pleasantries, they were led to the hall where the science fair was going on. The crowd was decent for the town size.

"The competition will be starting in 15 minutes" the secretary of the school informed them

"Good to know we got here in time" Tony chuckled.

The duo was walked around the fair, getting introduced to important people of the town.

"This is an announcement for the participants of the Science Fair Competition. Gather your projects and reach to your assigned tables. I repeat. Reach your assigned spots so we can start the Competition"

"Looks like it's time" Rose muttered to Tony who smiled back, as they made their way along with the other judges.

"I can't believe you did this whole shenanigan just so I could meet one kid"

Rose shrugged with a smile of her own, "Consider it a bit of a...dramatic flair. We have a reputation to upkeep. Besides, the kid's amazing."

"You checked the records"

"Paranoia." Rose exhaled, "No, but seriously, kid's quite amazing. Neither of us is getting any younger. And not to sound like Alice, but we need young talent"

"You are 23. I'm 45. Stop making us sound like we are in our late 80s or something. I'm young and you, you are technically still a child yourself"

"Passed that age five years ago"

"Not for me, you didn't"

Rose shot Tony a mock irritated look, while he just chuckled. Rose rolled her eyes

"Sir, mam, this way." The principle approached them

"Of course. After you" Tony gestured for the Principal to walk ahead while the father-daughter duo

They were walked through some pretty great models and experiments. A device for detecting black ice for blind people, Vertical Axis wind turbine, Control of a Ferrofluid Surface by Varying Magnetic Fields, A homemade calorimeter, The Twin Paradox & The Grandfather Paradox, effects of microwaves on plants and human health, the effects of salt on canola and its transgenic lines were quite a few that the Starks liked.

Tony was more of a physics and Maths guy and Rose, while having a Physics Ph.D. of her own, leaned a little towards Biology. And well, Chemistry was something they both mutually didn't like. That usually sparked debates in their shared lab of Physics v/s chemistry between Tony and Bruce. In those scenarios, Rose would choose her side as Maths( she had a Masters) and wouldn't participate.

And then they stopped in front of a table with the name badge of Harley Keener.

Rose internally chuckled when she realized that Harley had recognized her father. Harley looked at Tony for a few seconds before he looked at her and just spared him a smile.

"So what is this experiment of yours, Mr. Keener?" The Principal asked, "Can you explain it?"

"Of course sir" The kid nodded, "Well this is a prototype model of electricity generation from Car shock absorbers" and then he went out to explain his project. And it was pretty good. Not to mention, well thought out and creative.

"Thank you, Mr. Keener. It was a lovely presentation." Tony smiled and gave him a small wink

"Sounded amazing" Rose added, "Great job"

After another 45 minutes, they wrapped up, and then they gathered with the already existing judges to decided the prize positions. 10 more minutes of discussion after which the results were handed to the host of the event.

In the end, the first prize went to the kid who made the device to detect black ice for blind people, the second went to Harley, and the third to the effects of salt on canola and its transgenic lines.

The Starks stayed till the whole prize distribution and a thank you for them. Rose was asked to say a couple of words, which she did. She kept it short, to the point, but still humble and grounded.

After that, they had final greetings before they left for their hotel. Since Rose Hill wasn't big, they had booked a room in a hotel about 11 km from Rose Hill. Pulling into the hotel, they walked to the front desk, to be greeted by a lovely blonde.

"Hi. How can I help you guys?" she smiled

"Hello." Rose smiled, "We have a booking by Rose Stark"

The woman did a double-take. then quickly regaining her composure, she went to check the reservation, though she still kept subtly checking out them both.

"Here." she pulled back two keys from behind her, "Your rooms are 108 and 109. Have a nice stay"

"thank you, Ms..."

"Ruth Keener."

"Ms. Keener" Rose smiled, took the keys, and then gestured at Tony to follow her. Once they entered the hallway on the first floor, Tony harshly whispered

"You did that deliberately"

"I have no idea whatever you are talking about" Rose replied in a monotone but there was a huge smile on her face

"Oh, I don't know. Booking rooms at the very hotel where Harley's mother works"

Rose did a twirl and tossed a room key to Tony who caught it, "I did not book the room. Brittany did"

"But you knew"

She shrugged as she unlocked her room, "She mentioned it in passing, actually"

Tony took a deep breath, "And they say I have a stupid dramatic flair"

Rose raised a brow, leaned on the wall, crossed her arms, and looked at Tony amused. Though that would have been so much better had she not been 5'8"(with heels, of course) while her father stood at 6' easily.

"Uh-huh?"

"Let's see. You started a grant. Offered internship to three kids from a high school in a small town in Tenessee. Made me judge a bunch of high-school science experiments. And, now we are staying at a hotel where the kid's mother works. And I still haven't met the kid. So, dramatic flair much?"

"Am I hearing you complain?"

Tony shot her a look, which made her chuckle, "Okay, look. I've known about the grant since I was in college, though I always did wonder why you never put it out. I just sweetened the pot a little bit with the internship. Third, _we_ judged some high-school science experiments. Fourth, as I said before, I did not book the hotel room. Brittany did. Not my fault she has a wicked sense of humor."

"I'm gonna have words with your PA, once we return"

"Sure," she shrugged and pushed herself off the wall, "I'm gonna grab a nap."

With that, she entered her room, closed the door after her, tossed her bag o the couch, removed her pumps, and just fell on the bed.

* * *

She woke up about 2 hours later. Quickly refreshing herself, she checked in the mirror once. She brushed her loose wavy hair and put it in a low ponytail, her fringes framing her face. she smoothed over her white blouse and printed midi skirt, pulled her pumps, and decided to check on Tony.

She knocked on his door in a pattern only the family knew and then entered.

"Someone slept well" Tony off-handedly chuckled, eyes still on his tablet

"Yeah" rose replied, curbing a yawn as she went to sit next to him, "Whatcha working on?"

"Kid's project actually gave me an idea. I'm just working on it so the kid would have something to do when he'd get for the internship."

"How cute!"

Tony frowned at her, "do not ruin my reputation"

She chuckled, "So I was thinking about going downstairs and talking to Mrs. Keener. Maybe we can invite them to dinner tonight?"

"And that's a good idea?"

Rose smiled, falling on the bed, hands under her head, "Yupso!"

"Then I'm coming too"

"Dad, I love you. But lemme handle this. Can you please check in with Pepper, though?"

Tony frowned and crossed his arms. She just got up and walked out. Once she reached the front desk, she looked around for Mrs. Keener, until she found her near the photocopy/printing machines. And she seemed struggling.

"Everything alright?" she asked. Mr.s Keener, slightly startled, turned to look at her.

"Yeah. Kinda. It just stuck a little. No biggie"

"Maybe I can help"

Mr.s Keener looked at her in surprise, "Oh no. I'll call someone if needed."

"It's no big deal." she smiled

"I don't know. I really don't wanna trouble a guest by asking their help on something so stupid. It's honestly no biggie. I'll call..."

"Okay. How about an Avenger?"

Mrs. keener paused midway calling someone and blinked twice

"I mean you don't want to trouble a guest, I get it. But what about an Avenger? I'm pretty sure there aren't rules against asking for help from an Avenger."

"Uh...if you put it that way..."

Rose smiled, "So what seems to be the problem?"

The problem wasn't big, so it was solved in 10 minutes tops. there was a slight stacking and queuing error in the software.

"Thank you so much. And sorry for all the trouble I caused"

Rose just waved her off, "No big deal. I'm always happy to help."

And it was that moment Mr.s Keener realized something

"I'm so sorry. Is there anything you needed? I should have asked that first"

"I just wanted to ask where a girl can get decent coffee around here?"

"The coffee at the cafe is pretty good"

"And where is this cafe?"

Mr.s Keener was about to start telling the directions, when Rose spoke up a little sheepish, "Actually, would you mind walking me there please?"

Mrs. Keener seemed a little confused but she nodded, "This way"

Rose followed Mrs. Keener down another hallway.

"So, are you the only one manning the front desk?" she asked

"My coworker should be back by now."

"I'm sorry I'm stealing you from your spot right now. But I've never actually been around here."

"It's alright. Besides, it's not every day that an Avenger asks you to accompany them to coffee, amirite?"

"Yeah" Rose chuckled

The cafe was pretty good, considering the size of the town. In fact, she'd prefer this one to the SHIELD's cafeteria.

"So, what do you like?"

"It's okay. I'll or-"

"My treat" Rose smiled and Ruth reluctantly agreed.

Once Rose brought drinks for them both, they sat down at a table.

"I know it may seem a little unrelated, but your son? his name's Harley, right?"

Ruth slightly frowned, "How do you know my son?"

"Oh, we were here to judge their school's science fair today. Harley Keener, his name stuck. And I couldn't help but make that connection."

"Oh. He's been actually very excited about this science fair. He mentioned that some important officials from Stark Industries would be in the panel, but he never said it'd be you and your father"

"We kinda kept the whole judge thing a secret."

She had only told about them being the judge to the Principal and higher-ups only.

"Yeah. I get it. Or it would have been more of an Avenger fanfest" Ruth snorted, then her eyes widened, "I didn't m-"

"Please don't" Rose laughed, "That's actually true."

"so...Did my son win anything?"

"Sorry. I can't give out spoilers. Why don't you ask him once you get back home?"

"I'd love that but I've got a night shift. And possibly a graveyard shift too." Ruth sighed, running a hand through her braided blonde hair.

"I may not be so well versed in labor laws and such, but is it okay to work for so long?"

"The pay's good and fair. And when you are a single mother, you gotta take every opportunity that can present itself, right?"

Rose smiled, a little offhanded, "Yeah. That's right"

They sat there in silence for a few seconds before Ruth spoke up again.

"It may seem a little awkward and inappropriate and everything, but my son, Harley, got all these fancy equipments a while ago. And said that they were from Mr. Stark. I mean, that's a bit ridiculous and outlandish..." she trailed off

"Yeah," Rose cleared her throat, keeping the cup on the table, "sorry to break the bubble but Harley wasn't lying."

"What?"

"A while ago, we had a minor issue. I'm sure you would have read all about that in the newspaper"

Ruth blinked, almost confused

"The Malibu thing..." Rose trailed off as Ruth realized what she was talking about

"My dad got here and Harley helped him quite a bit. In fact, Harley helped dad take down the bad guy." she nervously chuckled, "When my dad told me about this, I wanted to meet him."

"So, lemme get this straight. You both flew out here all the way from New York to meet Harley?"

"Kinda?" Rose smiled, "We needed to start the grant somewhere."

"Hitting two birds with one stone" Mrs. Keener stated

Rose nodded, "I know how it may look and sound and all, but Harley's a great kid. And his project today was awesome for a kid his age. He's very smart."

"Did you check my son's background? Did you check my daughter and my background?"

"No," Rose shook her head quickly, "No background checks. I might have checked Harley's academic background to see if he'll qualify for the grant and all, but that was it."

Mrs. Keener slightly narrowed her eyes at her but didn't say anything.

"MOM! You will not believe what ha-"

The two women turned to the door of the cafe where Harley had stopped, staring at the billionaire.

"Hi Harley" Rose smiled

Harley imitated a fish, quite nicely.

"H-Hi" he replied, "Uh...Is Tony..."

"Harley!" Ruth softly chastised

"It's alright, Mrs. Keener." Rose smiled before looking at Harley, "Dad's in his room upstairs. Would you like to meet him again?"

Harley looked between Rose and his mother before settling on her, "Maybe later"

Rose smiled, got up, and looked at Mrs. Keener, "Thank you for the great company. I'm really sorry if I offended you in any way. That wasn't what I had in mind."

Mrs. Keener just nodded back. Rose turned and walked out, patting Harley's shoulder on her way.

* * *

"I may have offended her"

Tony snorted, "I told you I should come with you. But when do you ever listen to me"

Rose just rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm serious. She didn't look very happy when I told her that you were the one to send the fancy-schmancy pieces of equipment and that we flew here to partially meet Harley."

"Well, seeing it from a parent's perspective, if the same happened to you, I wouldn't be happy either"

Rose just narrowed her eyes at Tony,

"Like you said, we have a reputation. She has adequate reasons to be skeptical"

Rose blew out a raspberry and tucked her arms under her head only hear a knock on the door. The father-daughter exchanged a look before Tony got up to answer the door. Rose heard the door open and after a few seconds, close. She sat up, pushing some fringes behind her ear as Harley came into view, followed by Tony.

"Hi" Rose gave her best smile, the only she usually reserved for her kids, and a very friendly wave.

"Hi" Harley smiled. Tony sat on the bed next to her and asked Harley to take a seat.

"So..." Harley nodded, "Mom told me some stuff. I just want to ask one thing"

"Yeah?" Tony asked

"Did you favor me? In the science competition?"

The Starks exchanged a look

"'Cause if you did, then I don't think I should get the grant and the internship. I'm perfectly capable of getting them myself without some stupid favoritism"

Rose chuckled, "You weren't lying." she muttered to Tony who chuckled.

"Okay, look, kid. Your project was actually pretty amazing. Better than that potato gun, anyway" Tony replied

"Potato gun?" Rose asked, but neither of the guys answered her.

"I'll have you know, that I improved the FPS of the gun. And increased the ammo capacity." Harley huffed, crossing his arms

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"We didn't favor you, by the way," Tony chuckled, "You are good, kid. Not that good"

"Did you just insult me?"

"Well, it's way better than guilt trips, right?"

"Oh really? We had a connection!"

"You tried to guilt-trip me!"

"I helped you kick the bad-guys ass!"

"We had this discussion earlier and I helped you first. And I helped you deal with your bully. Why are we even discussing this?!"

"Oh, you are not getting the last word. I motivated you to build something so you could break into the bad guy's lair"

Tony narrowed his eyes at Harley, a good reply forming in its head, but that was cut short by Rose's laugh.

"Oh my god!" she chuckled, looking at Harley, "no wonder dad likes you, kiddo." she winked, "I've got a feeling we'll be great friends"

"will you tell me his embarrassing stories?"

"Only if you tell me the stories behind your tweets"

Some of his tweets were actually great, considering Harley was a young teen.

Harley thought for a couple of minutes, "You got a deal, Ms. Stark"

"It's Rose. That's what my friends call me." then she frowned a little, "How come you call dad Tony but me, Ms. Stark?"

Harley just shrugged

"Wait wait wait" Tony interrupted, "Did you two just gang up against me?"

Harley and Rose shared a smug look, "yup"

"Why do I feel that I should be worried?"

"I don't know about worried, but I'm pretty sure you should be terrified, old man"

Tony slightly pouted and looked at Rose, who was laughing, "I'm not that old."

"Well, you are in your mid-40s"

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Hey speaking of old people, do you think your mom likes me?"

Harley seemed a little thoughtful, "She's a bit skeptical, yes. In fact, mom thought that you were conditioning her. To you know, accepting everything"

"I wasn't," she looked at Tony, "I wasn't conditioning her"

Tony snorted at that

"Well, my mom doesn't hate you"

"That sounds a bit like a relief"

"Compared to Kate's reaction, this is actually an improvement." Tony piped in

Rose rolled her eyes, "You are the only one to blame for Kate's reaction"

"Who's Kate?" Harley asked

"Old friend," Tony replied, "Anyway. Say, wanna join us for dinner tonight?"

"I have no problems. Not sure mom would agree though"

"Yeah, his mom's got two consecutive shifts." Rose added, "What about your sister?"

"She has an art class. A friend of mom usually drops Lucy here and we do dinner together"

"At the cafe?" Rose asked

Harley nodded, "Thay actually have pretty great alfredo and pesto"

"I haven't had a proper pasta in some time. Rosie?"

"We don't wanna intrude. We'll come only if your mom allows it."

* * *

Mrs. Keener agreed when Harley asked and that too without any persuasion from the kid. The two got to meet Lucy, Harley's sister. And she was such a cutie! With a passion for art. She'd get along fantastic with Steve.

Mrs. Keener asked stuff about the internship to which the Starks answered as honestly as possible. For kids, the grant cheque would be valid till they turn 19. And the internship would start in the fall, somewhere in September when the schools would give fall breaks. They had yet to pick a location between LA and Manhattan or some third place.

Lucy had asked if she could meet other Avengers, especially Natasha, whom she adored. The father-daughter exchanged an amused look before telling her that they'd first have to discuss everything with the team and can't make a decision as such all by themselves.

The next morning was spent at the town hall where some more details regarding the grant and funding were provided to the Mayor and school Principal and then after one final visit to the Keeners, they drove to the Nashville airport, from where they boarded their flight back to New York.

"so, what are you gonna tell the team?" Tony asked

"About what?" Rose asked, going through some emails that Brittany forwarded her.

"About Harley and Lucy. And after this, you might wanna plan more grant trips to other schools, colleges and unis and whatever"

Rose paused, raised her head, and looked at Tony, "What?"

Tony raised an amused brow, "You did not think this through, did you?"

Rose blinked a couple of times, "I did?"

Tony laughed, "Come on, pumpkin. Between the two of us, you are supposed to be the smarter one. I'm supposed to be the reckless one. Do not take my role from me, young lady"

Rose reached to rub her temples

"I messed up. A little." she muttered, "God. I should probably ask Brittany to make a list or something. Pepper's gonna hound me now"

"That she is" Tony nodded

"You know, as my father, you are not supposed to have fun on my expense"

Tony shrugged with a teasing smile, "Whatever you say, darling"

"I'll tell the team the truth. They'll understand." she muttered, "I guess. I hope"

Rose rolled her eyes before looking back into her tab when something popped up on her notifs. She opened the link and went through what turned out to be an online article.

"Uh...dad? You might wanna check your Twitter"

"For what?"

But Rose didn't reply as her phone started ringing, which she quickly answered, "Yeah, Nick?"

Tony frowned a little, not able to hear the other side of the conversation, but he did open Twitter on his phone and went through the feed and his eyes widened

"The fuck?" he muttered

Harley had posted a selfie he had taken this morning on Twitter, with the caption- "Unexpected guests, but then again we do have an old connection. Hope to see you both soon." And he had tagged him and Rose.

And the selfie had the Starks and the Keeners. Going through the comments, quite a lot were speculating if Harley and Lucy, or at least one of them, was Tony's kid with Harley's mother.

His phone pinged again and this time it was a message from Rhodey. He had sent him a couple of articles with the message:

**Rhodey**

**R: The hell, man?  
_> _Does Tony Stark has another secret child?  
___ >Who is Harley Keener and what is his 'connection' to the Starks?_ _  
_**

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. This, this was what they were trying to avoid.

"...yeah, I'll see to it. thanks"

"What happened?"

"Fury got the wind of it. He's having Mia work on it. Probably a statement on social media since it isn't a press conference level mess. Or maybe they'll ignore it and it'll disappear in a while as soon as those vultures get their hands on something juicier. I don't know." she sighed, "Should have told Harley not to post that pic"

"He's a kid. Don't blame him"

"I'm not"

"Rose, we can never be too careful"

Rose ran a hand through her hair when Tony's phone rang.

"It's Mia" he muttered

"Nuh-uh. You handle her."

"Lovely" he deadpanned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks. Hope 2021 would be a massive improvement for all of us compared to the shit 2020 has been.
> 
> I've been busy lately since my college is reopening tomorrow. I only got 7 days of vacay before the two sems. 😒
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter is gonna be a little...funnier. There will be a new OC. Someone is gonna face some challenges...
> 
> Stay safe and you all know the drill.
> 
> Ciao


	27. 23rd Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, isn't this great" She grinned, "Having my real family, extended family, and my friends all at one place to celebrate the day I get a year older and a year closer to death."

"Anyone seen Bruce?"

No answer

"why?" Nat deadpanned, "Everything alright?"

"so far, yes. It's just...I've not seen him since the morning. I wouldn't worry so much if it was the Starks, but..." he shrugged, "And I have this quite-big headache. but that's not the point! The point is I haven't seen Bruce since morning and I'm kinda worried"

"I was thinking," Steve piped in, "Maybe we should get a professional doctor for our team. What if, after a fight, Bruce too got injured or something to check us?"

"What? SHIELD doctors not enough for you?" Nat cocked a brow, eyes stuck on her phone playing Angry Birds: Star Wars II. Well, she blamed Clint for getting her hooked on that game.

Steve gave her a look, "I meant someone permanent. For Avengers. Exclusively."

"I would like to suggest someone who knows magical healing as well," Thor said, "Considering Barton, mine and Rose's magical anatomy"

The other three exchanged looks

"I'll ask Mia to ask Fury," Nat suggested, shooting Chuck and killing 5 pigs.

"Now that it's been decided," Clint said, loud enough to get everyone's attention again, "My question still remains unanswered"

Another set of looks got exchanged.

Clap!

Everyone looked as Tony walked in, a little skip to his feet.

"Did Pepper free you from your engagement? You seem quite happy." Nat blankly asked.

Tony raised a brow, "No. Unfortunately for you, Pepperony is still going strong. Now, I want all of you to pack your essentials, this very moment, right now. We are going AWOL for 2 days until and unless there's a fucking apocalypse knocking our doors."

"What for?" Clint asked

"The flight leaves in 2 hours" with that, he continued his way upstairs.

"what's gotten into him?" Steve wondered, watching Tony's retreating form.

And then Bruce appeared, entering the communal.

"Where've you been, Banner? We all have been worried sick!" Clint demanded

"I wasn't." Nat deadpanned, eyes still on her phone.

Bruce rolled his eyes, "I was busy packing the gift"

"Gift for whom? Is today an occasion?" Thor asked

Bruce looked around, "None of you guys noticed anything? You don't know what's today?"

Clint looked around, noticing the clueless looks on everyone, "No?"

"And you haven't checked any social media?" Bruce folded his arms, questioning Clint

"I'm taking a break for the peace of my mind," Clint said calmly

"Well, you took the wrong time to take your break. check your IG and you'll find out. I'm gonna pack my bags." he turned and walked out.

Clint shared a look with the other two blondes and took out the phone when Nat sprung up in her sitting position.

"Natasha?" Thor asked

"It's Rose's birthday"

A solid 5-second silence, followed by a "WHAT?!".

She turned her phone and showed it to the blondes. A selected few celebs and some of Rose's family she was following on IG had posted stories, wishing her Happy Birthday.

"We forgot Rose's birthday?" Steve asked

"I wasn't aware it was today" Thor muttered

"Well, none of us did," Clint said, starting to panic before he looked at Nat, "Did you know?"

"I knew her birthday was at the end of July. I just forgot today's 31st."

"Did Tony just say we have 2 hours before we leave?" Steve asked

The four exchanged looks before they scampered off.

* * *

"you both look like shit"

Steve and Clint shrugged as Rhodey gave them both the judgemental eye. Bruce chuckled. Clint and Steve had gotten to the airport hanger just 5 minutes before and were so short on breath, Rhodey assumed that one of them was gonna pass out. Their plane was ready while they waited for others to arrive.

"Did you forget her birthday?" Rhodey asked, thoroughly amused

"No?" Clint exhaled.

Rhodey snorted, looking around the hangar.

"Where's Tony?" he muttered

"We still do have time left." Bruce piped in

The four were startled as Bifrost opened quite close to them and Thor walked out.

"Did you seriously go all the way to Asgard to get her a gift?" Steve asked

"I believe a fine lady like Rose deserves the finest gift for a woman"

"Great! Wonderful! Fan-fucking-tastic! Now you are going to make our gifts look lame!" Clint complained

"Speak for yourself!" Bruce complained

"Yeah" Rhodey added

Thor looked at the four a little confused, "I wasn't aware that this was a competition"

"It isn't." Rhodey quickly replied, "Clint's just insecure. I'm sure Rose would love all your gifts"

"Oh good, I'm not late," Nat spoke up joining the rest of them.

"Well, this is the first time you've all listened and complied to what I said," Tony said, appearing from inside the plane

"Were you there the whole time?" Rhodey asked

"Yup," Tony grinned, "Come on in. Don't wanna make them wait"

* * *

"Is there going to be a party?" Natasha asked

"Uh-huh," Tony nodded, "Every year Molly, her foster mom, organizes the entire party. She and family."

"and it is always in...where are we going again?" Steve asked

"Devon, South West England." Tony answered, "She owns a house there. The tower's not protected from that many magical presences at the same time and they all might end up short-circuiting the entire building"

He looked up offhandedly to see Clint slightly panicked, which made him roll his eyes a little.

"The place you are thinking, birdbrain, is in Somerset. Whole different counties"

Clint narrowed his eyes are the billionaire but didn't reply. And no one asked anything.

"And where's Rose?" Thor asked

"Rose and Pepper are meeting some Japanese associates for some company stuff in London. Which reminds me, JARVIS put a reminder about the Lyon property deal"

"Reminder set, sir"

"Getting yourself a farmhouse?" Rhodey asked

"Office building. The girls want me to get done with the deal" he shrugged, "You know, expanding business"

"So anything particular we should be aware of?" Steve asked, "I mean if her foster family's gonna be there"

Tony thought for a solid moment, "Don't think so."

* * *

The plane hovered over the ground, lowering to the ground before it finally landed.

The doors opened and the lot got out.

The grass was some of the greenest they had seen. The garden was filled with beautiful flowering trees that were very much maintained. The house itself looked very beautiful. It looked like a typical British house with a slanted roof, multiple chimney outlets, a pewter color palette, and big windows.

"For some weird reason, this all screams Rose." Clint chuckled

"If you think this screams Rose, you should check out her Port Grimaud house" Rhodey snorted

"Port Grimaud is...?" Bruce railed off

"France" Tony answered just as they heard the front door open, followed by childish yells of

"Grandpa!"

As Teddy and Victoire ran out of the house and Tony scooped them up.

"You both are getting big." He huffed

"No!" Victoire giggled, "You are getting old"

"I'm not that old, young lady" Tony bumped his head with hers playfully

"And am I just forgotten?"

Teddy grinned and reached for Rhodey

"Yup. Tony's right. You are getting bigger"

Teddy pouted but Rhodey just booped his nose. He then looked over Rhodey's shoulder at the Avengers and waved at them

"Hi"

Others responded with their own waves and smiles.

"Are we gonna have the whole meet and greet outside?"

Tony smiled and gave Fluer a small hug, considering he still had Victoire in his arms

"Good to see you." Fleur smiled, "In you go. Charlie's in there"

"Oh that'll be fun" Tony snorted

"Bonjour James." Fleur smiled and gave Rhodey a hug too.

Rhodey laughed, "You are sight for a sore eyes, Fleur"

"Feeling's mutual." Fleur chuckled before she ushered him in too.

"Well, it's great to see you all again" she smiled at the Avengers

"It's great to see you too" Natasha smiled

"come on in. The family's quite eager to meet you all" she gestured to them to follow her.

the inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. It was a beautiful combination of vintage, minimalistic, and modern. And there was a small army of red-heads roaming around.

"Pretty sure I've never seen so many redheads at once" Clint muttered, which had Fleur chuckling

"Trust me," she looked at him, "my wedding had it worse"

"Okay, so who all have we not met yet?" Natasha asked

"Thor!"

And at once, all the kids bombarded at Thor, who was now beaming at the attention and crouched to their heights

"Hello, young ones. How all are you all faring?"

"We are great" Fred grinned

"We are so happy you all are here," Molly-II said, a bit timidly

"Yeah. Aunty Rose would love that her friends from work could be here" Victoire added

"Friends from work?" Steve muttered

"Thor? I read a story about Fenrir the wolf. Can you tell us that tale?" Teddy asked

"I most certainly would love to"

"Teddy! he just got here!" Fleur chastised

"'tis alright, Lady Fleur" Thor smiled at her and then looked at the kids

"come on." Teddy held Thor's big hands in his tiny ones, "Uncle Charlie would love to hear those stories as well"

Fleur rolled her eyes

"Hey, it's alright." Bruce chuckled, "he loves to tell his stories and most of us aren't that invested in them"

"He told us that he fought an entire army of living dead, on his own, singlehandedly" Clint pointed, "Trust us, we are invested or interested in his stories"

"You never know. They might turn out to be true." Fleur shrugged with a smile as she led them to the sitting area

When Clint gave her a questioning and puzzled gaze, she shrugged, "For us mortals, he's a literal god."

"Hey guys"

They looked over as George made his way to them

"Long time, no see, blokes and bird" he gave them all quick hugs and handshakes

"Busy schedules" Steve smiled, "and thanks for the gifts"

"It was our genuine pleasure, Captain." George grinned amusement and mischief all over his face.

"If he destroys the tower while figuring out your toys, you might get in some trouble with your sister and her father" Bruce chuckled

George studied the scientist for a long time, "I'll take the risk, Dr." before he grinned, "Lemme introduce you to my wonderful family"

"The whole family already knows all about you lot" George quipped as he sat down and went to introduce, "That's my oldest brother, the one with the dragon earring and scars, Bill. Fleur's husband. The one with a stocky build and full-sleeved shirt is Charlie"

The two Weasleys waved at them when their names were mentioned

"The one who keeps bunking stuff?"

George snapped his fingers and grinned at Natasha, "Yup. Well, his job is demanding. Raising dragons for a living is no easy."

George wasn't sure if the record scratch he heard was fake or did it really happen. Fleur laughed at the shocked expressions the Avengers now bore.

"run that again" Steve muttered

"Charlie" George repeated with an incredibly amused expression, "raises dragons for a living. Breeds and grooms them. He works at a dragon sanctuary. In Romania."

"Then full sleeves would be counterintuitive, wouldn't it be?" Clint asked

"he has a lot of burn injuries on his arms" Fleur replied, "They are healed, of course"

"But they look gnarly" George added, "anyway moving on Percy couldn't be here because he is married to his work and wouldn't leave that for one day for his little sister's birthday"

"Percy's 3rd?" Nat said

Fleur nodded and then lowered her voice, "To be honest, Percy and Rose don't get along very well."

"How come?" Bruce asked

"It's a bit in the past but Percy doesn't like his foster sister," George shrugged, "We tried talking to him, but he just keeps his distance from her"

"Then there's Geroge and Ron, you've met them tous les Deux," Fleur said, "last in line is Ginny. That girl over there" she gestured towards the girl in the kitchen with Angie and Tony along with a pregnant woman

"Pregnant woman's Audrey, Percy's second wife. She gets along with our family quite well, unlike her idiot husband"

"Every family has a black sheep, right?" Clint shrugged

"So else is gonna come?" Nat asked

"A couple more of Rose's friends. Friends from school" Fleur replied

"Just Neville, Daphne, Susan, Lee, and the twins" George shrugged

"It's gonna be a pretty big party isn't it?" Steve asked

George shrugged and Fleur chuckled.

* * *

While Rose had told them that she learned how to bake from her foster mother, Molly's cake was far better than Rose's. It had four tiers, but considering the size of guests, it was pretty reasonable, and as soon as it was taken out of the oven, you better believe that every single person looked towards the kitchen.

Somehow in the turn of events, Clint and Thor were made responsible for the kids and the two loved the attention they were getting, especially when they were asked to tell their heroic stories.

Nat and Steve helped Ginny, Tony, and Audrey with the dinner and appetizers, most of which were made by Molly, Fleur, and Audrey.

"I'm the cooking type." Ginny had waved them off, "Why do you think mum and dad adopted another girl into the family when they already had one? Rose sometimes hates it, though."

The two found Ginny quite a pleasant company. She was chatty, sharp, witty, and had almost excellent comebacks.

Rhodey and Bruce helped to set the table and arranging the gifts.

By early evening the rest of Rose's friends started coming.

"That leaves us with the birthday girl" Bill huffed, "Folks, where's she? Anyone?"

"She'll be here. Don't get your knickers in a twist" Ginny snipped in, earning chuckles

"She's right. When has Rose missed her own party?" Angie asked

"Kids." Molly chastised and everyone almost silenced themselves. Molly had full-heartedly welcomed and pretty much embraced the whole team as an extended family.

By late evening, most of the things were done. Everything was set. All the guests were there. All but the birthday girl.

"How much longer, mum?" Molly-II asked

"just a few more minutes, darling." Audrey smiled

The anxious silence was broken as Tony's phone beeped and he quickly fished it out to check.

"They're here." he muttered and looked at them with a smile

"Alright," George muttered, rubbing his hands together and stood up from his place, clapping loudly once, "Okay. This is what we-"

"We are not going to yell surprise when she comes in" Ron deadpanned

"Or switch the lights off" Charlie added

Rhodey snorted so loud, every single person in the room heard it.

"Well, aren't you two the joys" George frowned

"George," Arthur almost tiredly chastised, "Do we have to?"

"Sorry, dad, for trying to break the monotony," George replied, but glared at his brothers, "But I wanted to make the party a little livelier"

"We can do that without ambushing her" Neville spoke up

"Unless you want a repeat of what happened the last time you did that" Daphne scoffed

"Maybe you should do it" Ginny added, "I'd love me some recap"

George just rolled his eyes when the front door opened and closed. Soon, Rose, Pepper, and Happy came into view.

"Well, isn't this great" She grinned, "Having my real family, extended family, and my friends all at one place to celebrate the day I get a year older and a year closer to death."

The birthday party might not be a surprise, but the amount of "Hey!" that came after that statement was quite surprising.

"Oh," she blinked, "Alright." she shook her arms and pushed her blazer sleeves to her elbows, "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

Molly brought forth the huge cake and kept it on the table along with '23' candles on top.

"Do the candles have to be there?" she pouted a little childishly

"We all know your actual age, Rose. Now stop being dramatic and blow the candles." Susan quipped

Rose tongue teased the strawberry blonde girl before she held her half loose hair behind her neck and blew the candles as everyone started singing 'Happy Birthday" to her.

All but one finished in time

"Happy birthday to you  
You belong in the zoo,  
Happy Birthday Happy birthday, Happy Birthday to you"

Almost everyone turned to look at Charlie, who just shrugged

"Do any of you have any idea how wild she is?"

After a few seconds, a round of affirmations went around the group while others(mostly the team) were confused.

"He doesn't mean wild in a good way." Mia whispered to them, "And Trust me, you do not wanna know"

So they didn't ask.

Before she could cut the cake, George quickly grabbed her from behind, making sure her hands were tied and Charlie slammed another miniature cake, about which none on the team had any idea about, was slammed into her face. Giggles and peals of laughter broke out. Charlie pulled back at the plate as she flailed in George's grip, but it seemed tight. Ginny then reached and smudged the cake further, not bothering that her peach-colored top was getting stained.

"Happy Birthday, Princess" George loudly exclaimed as he let go of her and she gasped quickly clearing out any and every amount of cake from her eyes and nose.

"You guys are the ones who belong in the zoo" she muttered.

Still laughing, Susan handed Rose the tissue box and quickly wiped away her face to her best of her abilities.

Since all the presents were already on another table, there was no need for any gift-giving session. She quickly jumped to help Fleur, Angie, Charlie, and Ron in serving the dinner. Molly tried to make her stay and not work, since it was her birthday, but Rose didn't listen.

The whole manor was lit up by the constant chattering. Everyone was included in discussions ranging from how different mundane and magical worlds were to how annoying the Starks can be.

By 11 PM, most of the older generation, the youngest generation, and Audrey called it the night. The twin sisters, Susan, and Lee left since they all had work the next day.

Others were lounging in the living, everyone cradling a glass in their hands ranging from champagne to butterbeer.

Rose complained a little to the lack of Firewhiskey, but then shut up when George handed her a bottle of whiskey.

"How come you get the classy stuff?" Clint asked

"Champagne and butterbeer are for lightweights. I've evolved from that stage." Rose grinned

"Uh-huh. You sure did" Clint scoffed

Rose chuckled, legs dangling over the couch's armrest, as she leaned on Charlie.

"When are you gonna open the gifts?" Nat asked

"Once we get back home. I'm in no hurry." Rose shrugged, swirling the glass a little as the amber liquid swirled inside as well.

"You are gonna carry all of that to New York instead of opening them here?" Steve asked

"Yup. Why?" she raised a brow, "What did you gift me?"

Steve folded his arms and pulled back, "I'm not telling"

Rose finished her drink and swung her legs to sit straighter and looked at Steve, "Wanna know why I'm not opening it here?" she turned to Ginny, "How embarrassing is the gift?"

Ginny chortled, "It's subjective. But I'd say very"

Rose gestured towards the younger redhead and then leaned back.

"So, you have turned 23 today, Rose. About time you start acting mature" Bill noted

She pushed back some hair behind her ear,

"He, he and she," she pointed at George, Charlie, and Ginny, "covered me in cake and he said I belong in the zoo and I'm the one who's childish?"

"Yeah Bill," Fleur smiled, "Leave the birthday baby alone." She paused for a couple of seconds, "Excuse me, birthday girl"

"How am I the baby?" she asked, "I'm not even the youngest! Ginny is the youngest. If anyone's the baby, it's her!"

"Physically, yes. But mentally I'm older than you" Ginny smirked

Rose narrowed her eyes, "Sure, grandma. You sure you should be drinking that, considering that you are nearly 100, mentally"

A round of laughter went around while Ginny just rolled her eyes.

"On another note, let's not put the pictures of a cake covered Rose out on the internet," Mia said

"Thank you!" Rose exclaimed

"Put the ones where she struggled to blow the candles"

Rose frowned as they all laughed again. The four-tiered cake kept on a medium-high table made it hard for Rose to reach to the top to blow candles. It was about 5 inches taller than her. And no one came to help her. She knew, somewhere, Molly deliberately made the cake that high. And one of the arseholes in the family chose a table that high for the cake.

After about a couple of failed attempted to blow the candles by jumping and everything, during which many photos were also clicked, she had enough and pulled an ottoman, kicked off her heels, climbed on top of that, and then blew her candles.

"Sure. Go out of your way to make my birthday worse" She rolled her eyes, "You all are so mean to me"

"Oh, my poor little baby" Charlie cooed at her to only to be smacked

She pulled the whiskey bottle and poured herself another drink to find that she had emptied the entire bottle.

"Well, guess, I'll call it a night too. A party after a whole day at work." she stood and stretched, "Good night, losers. Not you guys, I love you lot," she told the team then looked at her family, "You are mean." And she turned and walked upstairs.

"Relax," George spoke up, "That's her way of saying thank you that she loves us."

"Didn't seem so" Thor muttered

"Trust us, it is so," Ginny said

The group talked for another 15-20 minutes before they all too decided to retire to their beds.

Despite the huge size of the house, it didn't have rooms for all of them so many on the team had to share. Nat and Clint shared together, so did Thor and Steve and Bruce and Rhodey.

The two blonde men were making their way up when Steve noticed something on the balcony.

"Captain?"

He turned to look forward where Thor stood at some little distance

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. You go ahead. I'll be there in a while"

Thor seemed skeptical but then he nodded and left. Steve turned back and walked into the balcony where Rose stood, leaning on the rail, looking at the starry sky.

"I thought you were going to bed," he asked, coming to stand up next to her

Rose took a deep breath, slightly swirling her whiskey glass, which surprisingly still had whiskey.

"I love the view from here. No matter how tall of a skyscraper you build, you cannot get a view like this in New York"

Steve looked up at the sky, lit up with thousands of twinkling stars.

"I don't think I've seen anything so beautiful since…"

"the war?" she softly asked, "I get it" she muttered, she took a swig off her glass, "Thank you. Everyone told me how much of a help the whole team was."

"It is your birthday. After everything you did for my birthday, it was the least I could do"

"Well, aren't you chivalrous," she chuckled and took a deep breath, "23. And I miss my 21"

"Can't believe it's been almost a whole year since we all became a team."

"I think more than a team, we became family," she looked at Steve, "I don't know about others, but I'm glad to have you all in my life. For worst and the best."

"I'm glad to have in my life too," Steve smiled, looking back at the sky, "Waking up in this time, I was lost. If it wasn't for you and the team, pretty sure I'd still be lost."

"Eh," she shrugged, "Pretty sure you'd have found a way. Also pretty sure that would have taken another 10 years"

Steve chuckled and looked at Rose, who was looking at him.

Okay. This was it.

Steve turned his body a little towards Rose and he took a breath. He was about to lean down when the entrance door to the balcony slammed open and someone started heaving loudly.

"Thank God!" he wheezed, "I made it in time!"

Steve blinked at the man, crouching with hands on his knees as he tried to normalize his breathing.

Rose raised her brow, finishing her drink as she checked her phone, "10 minutes before midnight. That's a new record"

"I…" he straightened and stretched his back, "Just a sec" he took a few more breaths.

Steve furrowed his brows as he studied the man. He had a tough and strong build, chiseled facial features, small eyes, and short black hair.

After few minutes he straightened.

"I know this is not how you pictured it, and I deeply apologize for the same, but Happy birthday, baby girl."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Given your circumstances, I'll let this slide." she reached as the man enveloped her in a hug and kissed the side of her head, "23 years and another year closer to death, huh?"

Rose chuckled, "Yeah"

She pulled as the man wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulder.

"Steve, this is Kevin. Kev, Steve."

"It's an honor to meet you, sir." Kevin grinned, extending his hand which Steve shook

"Thank you. And it's Steve, please."

"Wow," Kevin grinned, "I'm on a first-name basis with Capt. America" he chuckled, "I'm sorry if this seems weird and all…You were kinda the main reason I joined the army. I wasn't really ready to meet one of my heroes."

"Uh…thank you?"

"I told you he was gonna be here." Rose quipped

"Yeah, but it's a thing to hear and whole another to meet the living legend" Kevin responded

"So…How long have you two been together?" Steve asked

"Oh…" Kevin muttered, suddenly looking clueless, "W-We aren't together"

"Kevin, sweetie, we can be honest with him," Rose smiled innocently before she looked at Steve, "We've been together for 19 years."

"what?" Steve muttered

"She's just messin' with ya. We are not 'together' together. We are best friends since childhood. Kinda grew up together."

"Oh" Steve muttered

"Really, Kev?" Rose huffed, "I really wanted to find out how long we can fool him into thinking we were dating. And now we'll never find out"

"You. There's no we in here. _You_ wanted to fool him and now _you_ won't ever know. Do not drag me into this"

"Whatever happened to us as a team?"

"Oh, it is still there. Just not at the moment."

Rose rolled her eyes, "So what did you get me?"

"You don't like gifts"

"Who said that?"

"You?"

"That was ages ago. Besides you, Dad, Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy are the only people from whom I actually have gift expectations. Do not ruin this for me, Kevin!"

Kevin rolled his eyes, and it was weirdly similar to how Rose did, including the nose scrunch.

"Ash's gift is included in this." he reached and pulled out an envelope. She tore it open and pulled out the contents which were.

"Gift cards?" Rose chuckled, "you got me, Starbucks, Victoria's secret, and Chipotle gift cards."

"Victoria's is from Ash"

"For $400. $300 for Starbucks and.." she paused a few seconds, "$1000 for Chipotle." She looked at him and dreamily sighed, "I love you so, so very much. This is the reason you are my best friend. This is one of the best gifts I've received today"

Kevin smiled

She reached and kissed his cheek, "Good night, handsome. Night, Stevie" she turned and walked out

"I'm sensing a story behind the gift cards" Steve spoke up after a few seconds to break the awkward silence

"Well, to be honest, there isn't anything that I can buy for her that she can't buy for herself. I mean, she's a billionaire CEO. She can afford all of it. And gift cards were something we'd been gifting each other since we were kids. It's kinda like a tradition. If I had gotten her anything else, she'd been madder than happy." He looked at Steve, "I'm not sure what it says to you about my character or my relationship with Rose."

"what do you mean?"

"I looked up to you, you know. You inspired me to join the army. So I was kinda hoping to make a good impression"

"Trust me, you made a great impression. As far as you and Rose are concerned, I can tell how close you both are. I mean, you two have been friends for almost 20 years, and that itself says a lot. And you seem to be a great friend."

"I try to be." He chuckled, and cracked his knuckles, "Well, it's past midnight. We should go to bed."

"Sure. Good night"

"Good night"

* * *

The next day was spent in the fun. Everyone, just enjoying their day like a mini vacation. Kevin had to leave that day to get back at work-life. But that didn't stop the two from making plans months in advance when Kevin would be returning on a furlough. The day after, the whole team flew back to New York.

* * *

"Come on! Now?!" Clint asked, slumping on the couch

"What's the rush?" Rose asked, keeping the potted blue iris and red lily plants on the windowsill shelf with a mental reminder to take to her room with her. The potted plants were a gift from all the kids and it was very thoughtful as the plants were just weeks away from blooming.

"I just wanna see what everyone gifted you"

"Pretty sure that's not the only reason" Bruce quipped

"Shut up," Clint muttered and looked at Rose, "Please"

Rose took a deep breath, "Alright"

She sat down on the floor and took out all the gifts from her handbag and once on the table enlarged them. She randomly picked one. It was covered in a brown package and tied together with leather straps.

"Who's it from?" Natasha asked

"Charlie" she replied, "Only he uses leather"

She carefully opened it, even folding the gifting paper softly at the end. She opened the lid of the box and chuckled.

"Of course"

"What is it?" Clint leaned close. And she pulled out what looked like a tooth?

"It's a dragon tooth necklace." She chuckled

The large tooth, about the whole size of Rose's hand (she had small hands), was polished and then covered by metal at the holding through which a thick black thread was passed through.

"It would go great with my black lace dress" she muttered

"Wow," Natasha muttered, as Rose handed it to her to see, "Where can I get one?"

"I'll have to ask Charlie"

"Great. Next. Open next" Clint ushered

She blindly reached for another box which was wrapped with a simple gifting paper. Inside she found a box and opened it to find a beautiful silver watch.

"it's so beautiful." she looked at Pepper, "Thank you so much"

"It's Ballon Bleu de Cartier Automatic 33mm stainless steel watch. Considering you broke the last one, I'm hoping real hard you break it"

"Yes, mam" Rose grinned and quickly slipped the watch onto her left wrist and then reached into the pile again. This time she pulled out a nice soft packaged gift.

It was a beautiful emerald green wrap dress and inside the package was a note

 _Green brings out your eyes. Happy Birthday-_ _Audrey and Percy_

She was pretty sure Audrey put Percy's name just to appear nice. She didn't mind, though.

The next gift was wrapped in black gifting paper and as soon as she unwrapped it, she saw the YSL logo. It had to be from Fleur and Bill. Fleur loved giving gifts that had French roots.

Inside was a black quilted shoulder bag and it was beautiful.

"Wow, that's so pretty" Nat muttered

"YSL?" Tony asked

"Yeah"

"Fleur loves YSL"

Rose chuckled before looked at Nat, "You are not going to borrow that, ever"

"I wasn't going to, but alright"

"Why have you haven't opened any of our gifts?" Thor asked

"I'm picking randomly, Thor. Maybe the next gift would be yours" she shrugged and went for the next gift, which was wrapped in a nice printed paper.

Whatever was inside, made her gasp.

"This is awesome!"

"Glad you liked it" Bruce smiled

"Aww, thank you, Brucie Bear" she reached and gave him a tight hug.

"What is it?" Steve asked

She picked the gift and showed it to them

"A puzzle!"

"A big-ass puzzle." Clint corrected her, "it has 51,300 pieces." He looked at Bruce, "How big is this supposed to be?"

"I guess, 29-by-6 feet."

"That's huge" Steve noted

Bruce shrugged with a smile

"Ohk! Great! Next!" Clint tapped the table

She picked another random big box and opened it.

"I love this. I love the gift"

It was a Lego death star

"Who's it from?" Bruce asked, "You?" he asked Mia

"Nuh-uh"

"George" she deadpanned and flipped a note she found

_Enjoy your birthday, Darth Vader_

"It's from George and Angie"

"whoa" Tony muttered, "He must have messed up bad if he's gifting you this"

"Not sure if I wanna know," Rose replied, keeping the box down and picked next. This was just a velvet box.

She took a deep breath when she opened it

"you guys have to let me know wherever you are buying all this from? Because all these gifts are awesome!"

"That's from Rhodey," Tony said after a quick peek

"What's it?" Natasha asked

"DaVinci code mini cryptix" Rose replied, "I've been wanting one since the movie came out"

"What movie?" Steve whispered to Nat

"Da Vinci Code. Ask JARVIS to show you later"

"Got it"

"Are you gonna solve it?" Clint asked

"Yes! It's a cryptix. Of course, I'mma solve this!"

She placed the cryptix back in the box, which she kept it on the couch before she picked the next gift.

"what's this?" Rose asked, looking around the white device

"It's a Sleep therapy sound sleeper. Technically it is supposed to induce sleep when you listen to it. Ron and I thought to gift you something that'll help you. And kill your insomnia"

Rose chuckled, "How thoughtful, you two. Thank you" she kept it on the floor, "Though a couple of good scotch would do the same trick"

"I'm not gonna buy you alcohol"

Rose rolled her eyes as she reached for the next gift. It was wrapped in pink paper and that already sent red flags in her head.

As soon as she saw what the box said, she groaned loudly.

"Damn you, Ginny"

"What's wrong?" Steve asked

With a frown, she raised the box and showed the gift to the team. It was Victoria's Secret box.

"My devil of a little sister gifted me lingerie"

"How much you wanna bet that it would be super kinky?" Natasha laughed

"Not gonna make a bet when I know I'm gonna lose" Rose grumbled

"Guys, please" Tony leaned back to avoid looking at the box whatsoever, "You might be grandma's age, but she's still my daughter. I really don't wanna know such things"

"Are you gonna wear it? Ever?" Natasha asked, ignoring Tony's taunt

"I don't know" she shrugged and pushed it under the table, "This is why I didn't wanna open the gifts in front of everyone. Hell, I'm not gonna even open it."

"Good call" Bruce nodded

Rose and reached for the next gift. It was a box that looked like it was wrapped in silk or satin. Inside was one of the most beautiful daggers she had ever seen.

"This is beautiful Thor" she grinned, looking at the dagger

"I'm happy that you liked my gift." Thor smiled and leaned forward, "The dagger is made with sacred ash of the Yggdrasil."

"Like Gungnir?" she asked, eyes shining like a little child

Thor chuckled, "Yes. Very much like Gungnir. And just like Gungnir, this dagger will never miss its target. The dagger also has runes to make it work with your magic."

Rose grinned and hugged him tightly.

"This means a lot, Thor. Thank you so so much!" and she kissed his cheek

"It is my pleasure" he smiled

"Alright," she sighed, and reached and took the big one and opened it.

"Huh. It's a beautiful unexpected surprise." She looked up at Natasha, "I really wanna say I hate you, but I don't, so it won't mean anything." She lifted and kept the box on the table

"You gifted her a MacBook?" Bruce chuckled

"That's insulting, Romanoff" Tony drawled, leaning back, "Very insulting"

Nat shrugged, "I just wanted to gift her the competition."

"Well, it would be helpful when we release the next line of Stark tech. Doesn't hurt to know the competition a little." She muttered reaching for the next gift, "Thank you, Nat"

"No problem"

She opened the next box and frowned a little, "Mind telling why either of you thought it was a good idea of gifting me 2 gifts?"

"I got you one" Clint muttered

So Rose's gaze shifted onto Steve.

"For my birthday, you made the cake and you gave me a gift. Seemed only fair if I gifted you two." Steve replied

"This is not a competition, Steve. I love baking and birthdays give me a reason to bake." She replied

"What did he get you?" Tony asked

"Uh…an instant camera. Which is amazing." She smiled, keeping it on the table as she looked inside at the second long white box.

"DeFaith" she muttered taking it out and keeping it on the table and opened it

"Absolutely gorgeous," she whispered. Inside was a gorgeous pink rose with metallic plating.

"Is that a real flower?" Thor asked

"Uh…yeah. A real rose with gold plating." Steve answered, "and it is bioluminescent."

"I'm running out of words here!" she chuckled and reached to give Steve a hug

"Thank you so much"

'You are very welcome"

"Alright. Alright. Great. He gifted you your namesake. Come on. Open mine" Clint ushered

Rose kissed him on the cheek and then went for the last gift.

"Now I really wonder what you got me," she muttered and reached for the last gift. It was a small box which confused her a little as she opened it and then she looked at Clint.

"Please tell me you did not."

"Well," he shrugged smugly

"How much did you spend on it?"

"I don't have to tell you the price of the gift"

"You brought me Apollo and Artemis earrings. Dude, these went for $52 mil last time they were auctioned. Please tell me you didn't do any shady shit to buy me these?"

Everyone looked at Clint

"Perhaps that explains your excitement" Thor muttered

"Clinton" Rose chided

"Ok fine. They are real diamonds, but they aren't the real pieces. They are just some 5-carat diamonds I found and got them into your dream earring pair"

"5-carat pink diamond costs nearly $ 5 mil. How much did you spend?" Tony asked

"It does?" Clint shrugged, "I didn't know that"

"You didn't know that?" Nat repeated

"It doesn't matter. It's your birthday. It's your gift. Enjoy" Clint huffed

"Alright, geez" Rose replied, "But this is a wonderful gift." She smiled and reached to give Clint a quick hug and a kiss, "Thank you"

"No problem, Sabrina"

Rose chuckled with a roll of eyes

"What about your friends?" Nat asked

"Uh…Neville gifted me a plant. It's huge so I kept it in Devon only. Lee got me a couple of coupons to his shop. Daphne gave me an invite to a spa trip with her. Susan got me a massive coupon to my favorite book store. And the twins gifted me two pairs of sun-moon earrings"

"Two pairs?" Clint asked

Rose tucked more hair behind her ear to emphasize her three ear piercings.

"All that's left is…you" Nat looked at Tony

"I might be the last one but my gift is the best"

"We'll see about that" Clint muttered as Tony left for the kitchen and to all their surprise pulled out a massive bouquet from one of the cabinets. And not a flower bouquet but a chocolate bouquet, ranging from MARS and snickers and all the way to Ferraro Rocher and so much more.

"Oh my god! Yes!" Rose grinned excitedly, "Best gift ever!" and then she sharply looked at the team, "It is no competition. I loved all your gifts."

As Rose got busy fawning over the chocolates, Others, minus Tony, turned to Clint

"Where did you get your hands on the replica?" Nat whispered

"Okay, look. Here's the deal. I helped bust this illegal diamonds smuggler and he had some real antiquities. I later asked Fury if I can take 2 of them. I gave them to a jeweler and got the earrings made. He was supposed to give it to me today, so I had to rush him up."

"And Fury was okay with you taking two diamonds?" Steve asked

"I might have let it slip why I'd like to have those diamonds. Not sure Fury actually knows their worth"

"Pretty sure he does" Bruce muttered, realizing that Fury might have deliberately let Clint take the diamonds. Rose and Fury might bicker back and Forth but they were still kinda family.

"And do these colorful stones any particular significance?" Thor asked

"Don't know much about that. But she had wanted those earrings for a while." Clint shrugged

"Hey Clint"

The group quickly separated and looked at Rose who was eating a chocolate cake with a spoon. The whole cake.

"where did you get that?"

"Dis?" she asked, pointing at the cake with her spoon, "My birthday gift for myself"

"You brought a second birthday cake?" Mia asked

"No. I baked it" she shrugged, "think you can get me a replica of the Marie Antoinette necklace next birthday?"

"I can try?"

"Great" she climbed off, still holding her cake. She shot them all a soft innocent smile and walked off.

Realization dawned on Steve a little late. Rose was never a jewelry person. And she asked for an expensive necklace. Of course, she'd mess with Clint over an expensive piece of jewelry.

"Hey, just asking. How expensive is that?" Clint asked

"$30 mil" Tony replied in a very serious tone

"Great" Clint sighed tiredly

"Yeah, buddy. Great"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first milestone for Consequences. I'm updating this as a completed story for now. Following this would be CA:TWS. After which I'll resume one-shots here itself.
> 
> Also wanted to put out that I'm opening commission work as an artist. You can check my IG @_wordsandbrushes_. So, there would be some time before TWS would be posted.
> 
> You know the drill: Read, Comment, Subscribe and Kudos
> 
> Cioa

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos down below!


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